Harry and Ginny the Bonded
by JediRhydon
Summary: Harry is preparing for his return to Hogwarts for his third year, but while he is in Diagon Alley, he discovers that he is soul bonded with Ginny Weasley, and realizes how he really feels about her. How will the two come together, and face the difficult tasks ahead of them? Will Ginny's family accept that she is bonded with Harry, whom they have seen as another son/brother?
1. Characters

People:

Harry Potter.

Ginny Weasley.

Ron Weasley.

Hermione Granger.

Neville Longbottom.

Susan Bones.

Luna Lovegood.

Draco Malfoy.

Daphne Greengrass.

Blaise Zabini.

Astoria Greengrass.

Arthur Weasley.

Molly Weasley.

Fred & George Weasley.

Bill Weasley.

Charlie Weasley.

Percy Weasley.

Albus Dumbledore.

Minerva McGonagall.

Severus Snape.

Hagrid.

Sirius Black.

Remus Lupin.

Amelia Bones.

Cyrus Greengrass.

Elizabeth Greengrass.

Belladonna Zabini.

Narcissa Malfoy.

Lord Voldemort.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

Lucius Malfoy.

Peter Pettigrew.

Cornelius Fudge.

Dolores Umbridge.

Ships:

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones.

Blaise Zabini and Luna Lovegood.

Draco Malfoy and Daphne Greengrass.

Sirius Black and Amelia Bones.

Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. (Note to self: Don't call Tonks "Nymphadora" unless you want to risk being hexed to the limit of your sanity!).

Severus Snape and Narcissa Malfoy.

Potter Family Friends and Allies:

Greengrass Family.

Weasley Family.

Granger Family.

Zabini Family.

Longbottom Family.

Black Family (Through Sirius).

Lupin Family.

McGonagall Family.

Tonks Family.

Bones Family.

Malfoy Family (Through Draco and Narcissa).

Severus Snape.

Albus Dumbledore.

The Order of the Phoenix.

Enemies:

Lord Voldemort.

Lucius Malfoy.

Lestrange Family.

Crabbe Family.

Goyle Family.

Parkinson Family.

Death Eaters.

Animagus Forms:

Harry Potter: Lion; Black fur, with a gray line tracing his scar, and his green eyes. Phoenix; Black feathers, golden feathers mixed along edges of wings and tail, a gray lining tracing his scar, and his green eyes.

Ginny Weasley: Lioness; Ginger red fur, with light colored speckles across her snout, and her chocolate brown eyes. Phoenix; Ginger red feathers, with gold feathers mixed along edges of wings and tail, light colored speckles mixed across the chest area, and her chocolate brown eyes.

Ron: Jack Russell Terrier.

Hermione Granger: Great Horned Owl.

Draco Malfoy: Boa Constrictor.

Daphne Greengrass: Wolf.

Blaise Zabini: Tiger.

Luna Lovegood: Hare.

Neville Longbottom: Black Panther.

Susan Bones: Brown Eagle.

Patronus:

Harry Potter: Lion.

Ginny Weasley: Lioness.

Ron Weasley: Jack Russell Terrier.

Hermione Granger: Otter.

Draco Malfoy: Dragon.

Daphne Greengrass: Wolf.

Blaise Zabini: Tiger.

Luna Lovegood: Hare.

Neville Longbottom: Panther.

Susan Bones: Panda.

Familiars:

Harry Potter: Hedwig the Owl.

Sorted Houses:

Harry Potter: Gryffindor.

Ginny Weasley: Gryffindor.

Ron Weasley: Gryffindor.

Hermione Granger: Gryffindor.

Neville Longbottom: Gryffindor.

Susan Bones: Hufflepuff.

Luna Lovegood: Ravenclaw.

Draco Malfoy: Slytherin.

Daphne Greengrass: Slytherin.

Blaise Zabini: Slytherin.

Golden Team/New Marauders:

Harry Potter.

Ginny Weasley.

Ron Weasley.

Hermione Granger.

Draco Malfoy.

Daphne Greengrass.

Neville Longbottom.

Susan Bones.

Blaise Zabini.

Luna Lovegood.

**_Hinny for life!_**


	2. Forming the Bond

_**A/N: This opening in Diagon Alley is set sometime before Ginny and her family go to Egypt, which technically speaking we have no idea when they leave for Egypt, and before the famed incident with Aunt Marge. Technically I know that this never happened in the book and movie, but this is simply a fanfic story, so anything can technically happen.**_

_**Diagon Alley; July 5thth, 1993**_

Harry was walking through Diagon Alley, collecting the basic supplies that he would need for Hogwarts, until he receive his letter for whatever else that he needed for school. He had run into Hagrid about two minutes ago, and walked around with him, grateful for his generous offer to help carry his stuff. At first he did try to kindly turn the offer down, but Hagrid was persistent, and honestly, he really did appreciate the offer. Hagrid was one of the few people who really cared about him, and didn't treat him like he was a freak. Other than Hagrid, there was also his best friend Hermione Granger, and the entire Weasley Family, who treated him like he was family, and he was definitely treated by them a lot better than by his relatives the Dursleys.

Suddenly, he started feeling a strange sensation in his heart. Some sort of, _tugging_ feeling. He tried to ignore the feeling, thinking that it would go away, but for some reason, as he walked in one direction with Hagrid, the tugging sensation was getting stronger, and it kept doing so as he walked further in his current direction. Finally having enough, he decided to walk in the opposite direction, and noticed that the tugging was not only decreasing, but it felt as if the tugging was leading him to something, or someone. He continued following the tugging sensation, until he saw the Weasley Family, and Hermione Granger. He knew Hermione was also going on a trip with her parents in about a week.

Ron Weasley, his best friend, wrote to him that his father had won a contest and that they were going to Egypt for about a month, so he guessed that they're probably here to gather supplies for their trip. He also figured that Hermione was also collecting school supplies like he was. As he walked towards them, he realized that for some reason, the tugging in his heart was leading him straight towards them, or at least, one Weasley in particular: _Ginny Weasley_. As he walked towards them, Ron noticed him, and called out to him.

"_OI, HARRY!_" He called out, grabbing the attention of his family.

"Hi Harry!" Hermione called out.

"Hey Ron, hi Hermione." He answered, hugging both of them.

"Why Harry dear, I wasn't expecting to see you here in Diagon Alley!" Mrs. Weasley said, clearly pleased to see him. "How are you doing dear?"

"Quite well Mrs. Weasley, thank you for asking." Harry said, truthfully grateful to the attention from Mrs. Weasley, who was like a mother-figure to him.

As he talked to Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Ron, and most of the Weasley brothers, he couldn't help but glance at Ginny, and several times catching her looking at him. The tugging in his heart kept trying to pull him towards her, and based on her body language, he could tell that she was feeling something similar. He couldn't help but stare into her warm chocolate brown eyes, marveling her long, fiery red hair, her beautiful face, splashed with freckles across her cheeks and nose, and her sweet flowery scent that wafted into my direction due to the wind. Harry didn't realize it, but Ron and Hermione had seen him looking at Ginny, and smirked as Hermione pushed him towards her, and Ron pulled his brothers Percy, Fred, and George away, in order to give Harry some space to talk to Ginny. As Harry walked to Ginny, he couldn't help but admire the way she looked; she had a pair of black leather boots that went up to her knees, a black skirt that went down to her mid-thighs, and a blue elbow length shirt, with a Hungarian Horntail dragon on it, that seemed to hug her body just right. As he walked towards her, the tugging in his heart was getting stronger, but as usual, Harry had no idea what to say to her. He was so focused on Ginny, that he didn't even notice the Goblin that was watching them with an intrigued look.

"H-h-hi Ginny." Harry stupidly stuttered, nervous as he always was around her.

"Hi Harry, how are you doing?" She answered, just as nervous as he was.

"Oh, just fine." He said, his nervousness still clutching him. "Just trying to collect some basic school stuff ahead of time, before I get my Hogwarts letter, informing me of specifically what I'll need for my third year."

"Oh, that's a good idea." Ginny further said, a nervous smile on her face.

Before Harry said anything else, he heard Mrs. Weasley yelling at Fred to stop pushing Ron, which he guess Fred didn't listen to, cause the next thing he knew, Ron collided into his back, pushing him forward. As he did so, Harry was pushed into Ginny, and in the process, his lips somehow collided into hers, causing the two of them to kiss each other. At first, they were both so shocked, that they pulled away from each other instantly, looked at each other with wide eyes, and then kissed each other again. As they did so, Harry and Ginny didn't noticed the golden glow that started to form around them, and somehow, when the two broke the contact, they found themselves in an open meadow.

Harry looked around the meadow, and then he looked at Ginny, and was shocked by what she was wearing. Instead of the clothes she had in Diagon Alley, she now had a beautiful knee length yellow colored sundress, with intricate rose designs on it, and Greek style sandals, with the straps going up her calves. Her hair was braided, and fell down her right shoulder. She usually didn't wear a lot of makeup, but she now had a small amount of blush on her cheeks, and she had red lipstick, strawberry flavored to be precise, on her lips. She also had a small amount of eye shadow on her eyelids, making her brown eyes stand out even greater. All in all, she looked amazing.

Ginny couldn't believe that she kissed Harry Potter. But she also couldn't help but admire the way he was currently dressed. Back in Diagon Alley, he had a black shirt that looked like it was at least two sized too big on him, and a pair of jeans that were ripped at the knees, and a pair of white sneakers. Now, he had a white cotton shirt that had six buttons, with the top two open so that she could see a small bit of his chest. He also had a pair of denim shorts, with flip flops on his feet. And somehow, more than likely by magic, his usually messy hair was neatly combed back, which helped make his scar, and especially his beautiful emerald green eyes, stand out.

"G-Ginny, y-you look amazing!"

Ginny couldn't help but blush as he said that to her, despite his minor stutter.

"No, not amazing! Amazing doesn't describe you right now; _beautiful_ is the correct word for how you are right now!"

Ginny just couldn't contain herself after he said that, she threw herself at him, and kissed him again. That was when the two heard her voice.

"I am so proud of you sweetheart."

Harry and Ginny turned in the direction of the voice, and the both of them gasped at what they saw. Right in front of them, was a woman dressed in what appeared to be a white dress, the kind that you would expect to be worn by an angel. What was really remarkable about her, was that she looked almost exactly like Ginny, but older! She had fiery red hair, and freckles speckled across her face. The only difference between Ginny and the red haired angel, was that her eyes were green, instead of brown. In fact, as Ginny looked closer, she realized that her eyes were the same as _Harry's_. They were the same shape and size, as well as the same shade of green. At first Ginny couldn't understand why this angel had the same exact eyes as Harry, but then she slowly began to realize who she really was, as did Harry, but slightly quicker.

"_Mum_? Is it really you?" Ginny looked at Harry as he said this, and saw the tears starting to build in his eyes.

"Yes Harry, it is me." Angelic Lily Potter said, causing me to start crying as well, for Harry.

Ginny watched as Harry ran to his mother, and surprisingly embracing her in a hug. She couldn't help but chuckle in happiness for him. She watched as the angelic Lily stroked his hair.

"I've missed you so much Mum!" Harry continued to say, his eyes closed and crying.

"I know sweetheart, and I miss you too." Angelic Lily said, a smile on her face. "And I am so proud of you! I'm proud of the person that you have become, and I am equally proud of the person, that you will grow up to be!"

Ginny walked over to Harry, and embraced him as he let go of his mother. She rested my head on his shoulder, and he began to stroke his fingers through my hair.

"As much as I would like to continue this conversation, we do not have much time!" Ginny looked at the angel of Lily Potter, and listened carefully, as did Harry. "You two, are _soul bonded_, and thus, true soulmates! Your kind of bond, has not been seen in over ten centuries, and thus you will have great abilities from this bond."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other in complete disbelief, and continued to listen to what Lily had to say.

"The abilities you will have, are thus." She said, telling us of what we would be able to do. "Telepathic communication, an empathy link that will help guide you back to each other if you're either far apart from each other or ever need each other, and you will be able to sense if the other is in great danger! Furthermore, you will be able to apparate to each other, if one or the either of you are in danger."

"_Wow! _Really, we can really do all of that Mrs. Potter?" Ginny asked, surprised by what she and Harry could do together.

"Yes dear, and please, call me Lily." Lily said to her, still having a hard time believing that she and Harry share a soul bond. "Now, it's almost time for you two to go back, but before you do, let me tell you one last thing."

Harry and Ginny leaned in, eager to hear what Lily had to say.

"You two must go and see Griphook, the Potter Family accountant at Gringotts Bank, and tell him of what has happened today." Lily said, telling the two what to do. "He will explain the rest of the Soul Bond to you, and give you the rest of your inheritance from your father and I Harry."

"Understood Mum." Harry said, clearly upset that he wasn't going to see his mum for much longer; Ginny couldn't help but feel so sorry for him, and hooked her fingers through his.

"I'm truly sorry that you have to stay with your Aunt Petunia and her husband Harry." Lily said, walking up to Harry, and pulled him into a hug. "I truly wish that things were different, but soon, hopefully that'll be different."

"What do you mean Mum?" Harry asked, equally perplexed as I was.

"You'll learn soon, but now it's time for you to go." She said, before turning to Ginny. "Take care of my son dear, and do your best to keep him out of trouble."

Ginny couldn't help but chuckle, and noted that Harry's face was turning as red as my hair. It was kind of funny to see Harry get embarrassed by his mother, although the smile on his face was easy to see. Ginny guessed that while she and her brothers wouldn't want their mother to embarrass them in front of someone they liked, Harry probably would've wanted to be able to have that experience. And now he was, and she could tell that he was actually enjoying it, and she couldn't help but laugh at his embarrassment.

"_MUM! _Please don't embarrass me in front of Ginny like that!" He exclaimed, his smile still etched onto his face.

Lily and Ginny both laughed at his words, and I looked at her, a few tears from Ginny's laughing going down her face.

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to keep Harry out of trouble." She said to Lily, as their surroundings started to glow bright, almost whitening out. "But truth be told, I can't really guarantee it! Trouble just seems to follow Harry Potter whenever he goes!"

"Oh don't I know it!" Ginny heard her yell out, since she couldn't see her anymore due to how bright everything was. "His father was the same way!"

And that was the last thing Harry and Ginny heard from Harry's mother, and they were back in Diagon Alley. Surprisingly, the two were apparently still in the middle of the kiss that sent them into that ethereal meadow, and broke apart, ending the kiss. As soon as they did, Harry and Ginny just looked into each other's eyes, mesmerized by what had happened to them.

Harry looked into the warm chocolate brown eyes of the girl that he loved, the girl that he apparently shared a bonded soul with. Harry was so lost in her eyes, that he had nearly forgotten that they were still surrounded by Ginny's brothers, her mother, Hermione, Hagrid, and many other wizards and witches that were around them in Diagon Alley. They only just broke from their stupor when Ron spoke out.

"_BLOODY HELL!" _Ron yelled out, causing Harry and Ginny to jump and look at him, laying on the ground looking up at them, with a shocked expression on his face, which was shared by everyone else around them. "What the devil just happened?"

"Yeah, what was that glow that surrounded you two?" Fred asked, an amused look on his face.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, completely confused by what Fred was saying. George, Fred's twin brother, looked at them, amazed that they had no idea what Fred was talking about. Even Hermione was perplexed by their ignorance.

"Why brother, I do believe our sister and her new boyfriend have no idea by what we're talking about!" George commented to his twin, causing Harry and Ginny to blush in complete embarrassment.

"Brother dear, I do believe you're right!" Fred further commented, only embarrassing Harry and Ginny even further.

Fortunately for the two, Mrs. Weasley came to their rescue.

"FRED! GEORGE! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Harry and Ginny smiled as Mrs. Weasley smacked both Fred and George on the back of their heads, yelling at them. "Stop embarrassing Harry and your sister! But the boys are right Harry and Ginny, there was a very bright golden glow that surrounded you two!"

"Yeah, but why?" The two looked over at Percy, who had asked that latest question. "Whatever that glow was, it was some kind of magic that I've never seen before!"

"That's because it was a kind of magic that's never been seen in over 1,000 years!" Hermione said, making all of them to look at her. "They've formed a ..."

"Soul Bond!" They looked around at the Goblin that they never noticed until now. "Mister Harry Potter and Miss Ginny Weasley have formed a Soul Bond, the first of their kind, in over 1,000 years, since the time of Merlin and Nimue!"

Everyone looked at Harry and Ginny, causing them to be uncomfortable by the amount of attention that was turned at them. They grabbed each other's hands, comforting each other as best as they could. Harry and Ginny looked at Ginny's family, seeing the shocked expressions on their faces. Mrs. Weasley's shocked face was particularly impressionable, as she was stuttering at what she had heard. As Mrs. Weasley was trying to figure out something to say, Harry looked at the Goblin, trying to figure out why he was familiar.

"A- a Soul Bond?" She had stuttered, having a hard time to understand what they had just learned. "But Harry is soon going to be turning thirteen in about four to five weeks, and Ginny will be twelve in about two months!"

"That may be so, but the Soul Bond knows no age limits." The Goblin explained, keeping his gaze on Harry and Ginny. "Soul Bonds are limitless in regards to age. It doesn't matter whether it unites two young individuals, or two old individuals. What matters, is that the two individuals that it unites, truly love each other. Why else would it have brought Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley together?"

Harry looked at Ginny whose face had blushed red, a smile working its way on her face. It was true however, he did love Ginny. He started having a crush on her since they first met at King's Cross Station when he was going to Hogwarts for the first time, and when Harry saw her lying on the ground in the Chamber of Secrets in his recent second year, he was afraid that she was dead. Now, Harry finally realized that he was in love with her, and he wanted to be near her no matter what. Harry looked back at the Goblin, and finally remembered who he was.

"I remember you now!" Harry exclaimed, think back to the first time he stepped into Gringotts Bank. "You're Griphook! My family Accountant at Gringotts!"

"Correct Mr. Potter, I was wondering how long it would be until you remembered." He said, a smile, (or at least what Harry assumed would be a smile for a goblin), on his face. "Now, if you and Ms. Weasley will follow, me, along with Ms. Weasley's family, I shall give you your full inheritance, and explain the rest of the Soul Bond between you and Ms. Weasley."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, and nodded their heads. Hand in hand, they followed Griphook back to Gringotts, along with the rest of Ginny's family, Hermione, and Hagrid, eager to hear the rest of our Soul Bond.

_**And this will be where we will leave off in the chapter. In the next chapter, Harry and Ginny will learn more about their Soul Bond, and its properties. Please vote and comment on what you think.**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_


	3. The Inheritance part 1

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, along with Ginny's family, Hermione, and Hagrid arrived at Gringotts Bank, where Griphook, the Goblin who served as the Potter Family Accountant, led them to a special office where he would be able to talk with them in private. Once they were in the office, he told them to wait in the room, and that he would be right back. Afterwards, he left the room. As the large group waited, they looked around and saw a desk, and several chairs, with two in front of the desk, and a third behind it. Harry and Ginny sat down in the two chairs in front of the desk, holding each other's hands.

Mrs. Weasley was still having a hard time believing that her youngest and only daughter was soul bonded with someone, much less to Harry Potter. She, like her husband Arthur Weasley, viewed Harry as another son, and never in her wildest dreams, had she ever imagined that her daughter would turn out to share a Soul Bond with him. She looked at the two young individuals, and saw them holding each other's hands, and smiling at each other as they looked into each other's eyes, and couldn't help but smile herself. She could see the admiration and love that the two had for each other in the way that they looked at each other. She knew instantly that Harry and Ginny were truly meant for each other. Her focus on the two broke when she heard flames whooshing in the fireplace that was in the room, and looked to see her husband step out.

She had sent a patronus message to him before she entered the bank, informing him of what happened, and to meet them at Gringotts. As he stepped out, he quickly brushed off some ash, and walked over to his wife, flabbergasted.

"Is it true?" Mr. Weasley asked his wife, eager to know if what he heard from the message patronus was true. "Are Harry and Ginny really soul bonded? Word of a Soul Bond being seen in Diagon Alley had reached and spread throughout the Ministry, but no one knew who the bonded individuals were!"

Mrs. Weasley nodded her head, confirming her husband's question. Mr. Weasley shook his head, shocked and surprised as his wife was.

"Yes Arthur, it is true." Mrs. Weasley said to him, still trying to wrap her own head around what they were learning. "Harry and Ginny were the ones who formed the Soul Bond. It was like nothing I had seen before! When they kissed each other, a bright golden glow just wrapped around them, and lasted for almost three minutes!"

"Yeah, and when Fred mentioned the glow, Harry and Ginny looked at him, like they had no idea of what he was talking about!" Percy further added. "They completely had no idea of what he was talking about!"

Mr. Weasley considered what he was being told by his family. His line of thought was broken when they heard the door open, and turned to see Griphook returning, with a set of papers tucked in his arm.

When Griphook left, Harry helped Ginny into her chair, and took his. He then held her hand into his, and looked into her chocolate brown eyes, and just felt like he was getting lost in her eyes. Harry heard Mr. Weasley enter via the fireplace, clearly using the Floo System, and heard him talking with Mrs. Weasley and Percy, but he didn't care, or pay much attention, his attention was focused only on Ginny. Ginny looked towards the door, as did he, when they heard the door open and Griphook came back in. Harry saw the stacks of paper that were in his arms, and figured that the papers must've been his full inheritance information. Harry and Ginny both watched him as he walked around to the chair that was behind the desk, and placed the papers on the desk, straitening them out, and looked up at them, his hands clasped together.

Harry and Ginny felt her family, Hermione, and Hagrid gather around them, eager to hear what going to be said. The silence that was around the group in the room was almost uncomfortable, but fortunately, he was holding the hand of the most beautiful girl that he was happy to be with. He could tell that Ginny felt the same, because Harry felt her hand lightly squeeze his, anticipating what Griphook would say to us. Hopefully he would be able to explain the Soul Bond a bit more than what Harry and Ginny were told by Angel Lily. Harry had never even heard of it until his mother, Hermione, and Griphook had said that he shared it with Ginny, or the fact that the last Soul Bond had been seen almost ten centuries ago, and fortunately, Griphook started to speak.

"Well Mr. Potter, I'm sure that you're are more than likely eager to hear what your inheritance is, as well as what the Soul Bond that you now share with Ms. Weasley is." He commented, looking back and forth from Harry and Ginny, while the both of them had nodded their heads. "Well, allow me to address the latter of the two bits of information."

Harry and Ginny sat straight up, waiting to hear what a Soul Bond was. Truthfully, Harry was more interested in the Soul Bond, rather than his inheritance. Truth be told, he didn't really care about the money, or what he owned, because Harry believed that you can't buy everything with money, like love, family, and friends for example. Harry knew that Draco Malfoy and his father would probably disagree, especially since the Malfoy's were one of the riches Wizard families in England, with Harry being a close second, due to what he inherited from his family.

"A Soul Bond, is a very special bond, in the fact that it unites two individuals, who share one half, of the same soul, essentially classifying them, as true soulmates!" Griphook began, explaining the properties of the Soul Bond. "What is interesting about it, is that the two individuals, through the Soul Bonds, are instantly, and immediately, married. Therefore Mr. Potter, you and Ginny Weasley, are considered husband and wife, through the Soul Bond."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other in complete shock, hardly believing what they heard, and they could tell her family and their friends were equally shocked, since he heard some collective gasps in the room behind us.

"But, they're still fairly young, too young to be married!" Mrs. Weasley said, prompting Harry to turn to her. "Harry will be turning 13 years old on July 31st, and Ginny will be 12 years the following month!"

"That may be so Mrs. Weasley, but the rules of the Soul Bond are exact." Griphook continued to explain, prompting everyone to look back at him. "Mr. Potter and your daughter may still be young, but they are united together through the Soul Bond that they share."

Harry was still having a hard time believing that he was already married to Ginny, even though they weren't going to have an exactly traditional type marriage.

_'Even if we are already going to be married through the Soul Bond, I still want to make sure that Ginny is given a traditional marriage.' _He thought to himself, making sure to make a mental note to one day give Ginny a proper marriage.

_'But Harry, I don't care about a traditional marriage, as long as I get to share my life with you, that's all that matters to me!'_ Ginny somehow said to him, telepathically, making Harry jump slightly in his chair.

Harry had nearly forgotten that his mother told him and Ginny that they would be able to communicate with one another through their minds, and therefore allowing Harry and Ginny to hear each other's thoughts.

_'That's all that matters to me as well Gin! All I want, is for you to at least be happy.'_ I thought, telling her through their telepathic connection, smiling to her.

"I see that you two are aware of the telepathic connection that exist between you now." Griphook said, causing them to look back at him. "It's one of the abilities that you now possess, as the Soul Bond allows you to communicate with each other, through your minds."

"Bloody hell, that sounds wicked!" Ron exclaimed, amazed at what Harry and his sister could do.

"Furthermore, because of the Soul Bond, you two are considered to be full adults, in spite of the fact that you are both not seventeen yet, thus allowing you two to use magic, even outside of school." Harry and Ginny were getting even more surprised by the increasing information that Griphook was telling them. "Also, in the eyes of Magical law, it is illegal for someone to interfere with the Soul Bond, as the consequences for anyone who tries are quite, severe. However, because you are both still not seventeen, I do have to advise that you keep your use of magic to a limited degree, while you are outside of school grounds. Now, onto your inheritance."

Harry watched as Griphook picked up the papers, and spread them out across the table. One of the papers said _Potter Will_ at the top, and so on, but what caught his eye, was a piece of paper that said _Potter Bloodline Family Tree _on it. The only thing was, that each of the papers were blank, and had nothing on them. Through their bond, Harry could feel Ginny's confusion, which was shared by him, as he looked up at Griphook. Griphook merely smiled, (again, what Harry assumed was a smile for a Goblin), as he looked at the two. Harry then saw him open a drawer, and pulled out a small, but sharp looking dagger from the drawer.

"I can personally assure you Mr. Potter that these papers will have writing on them, but first, I will require a drop of your blood, to make the writing appear." He explained, making Ginny grip his hand harder. "Not to worry Mrs. Potter, it is a form of Blood Magic, only the blood of a Potter can reveal the writing. Even your blood can reveal the writing, as you're technically now officially considered a Potter yourself, but it's usually best to have the individual who'll be inheriting the contents provide the blood first."

Harry and Ginny nodded their heads, understanding what Griphook was explaining. Harry reached his left hand out to him, since Ginny was holding his right, but Griphook shook his hand. He took my hand back, confused as to why Griphook refused to take his hand when he explained why he needed it.

"Apologizes but I suppose I should've been a bit clearer, Mr. Potter." Griphook said. "You see, I need your right hand, in order for this to work. Ever since the Potter Fortune was established, and the Blood Magic was put into place to protect its contents, every generation of Potters have given their blood, from their right hand. Therefore, I'll require your right hand in order for the contents of your inheritance to reveal itself."

Ginny squeezed Harry's hand tighter this time, not wanting to let it go, but he eased her a bit, and she reluctantly let go. Harry gave his right hand to Griphook, who then took hold of it. He felt how tight the grip of a Goblin was, and watched as the goblin took the dagger, and placed the edge of the blade against his skin. As he slice the blade across Harry's hand, he felt an uncomfortable sting, as the blade cut his skin open, making his blood seep out. When Griphook sliced Harry's hand, Ginny winched, as she obviously didn't like seeing a sharp knife like weapon being used to cut his hand open.

"And now Mr. Potter, first of all, I'll bring your hand over this piece of parchment first, and then we'll periodically drip your hand on the other documents." Griphook explained, bring Harry's hand over each piece of parchment, dropping three drops of his blood on each document.

Once he was finished, Griphook used his unique Goblin magic to heal the cut on Harry's hand, and looked at the documents. As we all watched, words soon began to form on the papers. Griphook picked up the document titled: _Potter Family Bloodline Tree, _handed it to Harry and Ginny.

"I suggest you take a look at that first, as it will help explain one of the documents that I will show you in a moment." He explained, placing the document in Harry's hand. "I think you will find the identity of one of your ancestors, most illuminating."

Harry looked at him confused, and looked at the parchment in his hand. He looked at his name, and saw a blue line connecting his name to Ginny, and to his parents. Harry continued to follow the blue line, seeing the names of every Potter family member before him, until it change to the name of Peverell, going to a man named Ignotus Peverell, and kept going. He continued to trace the blue line until he saw the name of...

"_**GODRIC GRYFFINDOR?" Harry **_yelled out, completely shocked looking back at Griphook. "I'm a direct descendant of Godric Gryffindor?!"

"Bloody Hell, no way!" Ron yelled out, completely shocked.

"Harry, let me see that please!" Ginny asked, taking the document from him, her face becoming as shocked as his. "Harry's right, he is a direct descendant of Godric Gryffindor, look!"

Ginny handed the parchment to her father, who also showed it to Mrs. Weasley. As the parchment was passed along, there was a lot of surprised looks and disbelief. Harry honestly couldn't believe it himself; he was the heir of Godric Gryffindor himself! Griphook just simply looked at him with an amused look, making Harry guess that his dad must've had the same reaction as he did when he learned of his heritage.

"Your father couldn't believe it himself, when he saw that your family was descended from one of the four Hogwarts founders, as did your mother, Mr. Potter." He simply said, as he picked up another piece of document."

Harry saw that it was his father and mother's will, and leaned forward to hear what it had to say.

"The Last will and testament of James Potter and Lily Potter!" Griphook began, speaking clearly for Harry and everyone else to hear. "We leave to our son, one Harry James Potter, Potter Manor, our four houses, our vaults, all family heirlooms, and the rest of the family fortune. Among the items that we leave to our son, we also pass on to him, Gryffindor Castle, and the many properties surrounding the homes that we leave to him, including the twenty acres of land that surround both Potter Manor, and Gryffindor Castle. We also leave to Harry, and his special someone, two letters, should we be unable to be there in person to say what is written in the letters."

Griphook then handed Harry one of the letters, and the second to Ginny. He opened my letter, and started to read it. Harry took a look at the envelope, and saw that it was from his parents.

_**Dear Harry,**_

_**If you are reading this, then it means that we are unfortunately dead, and thus unable to see you grow up. We hope that you have had a fair childhood, and are thus surrounded by people who love you son. There will probably be people who will try to tell you that we didn't love you enough, or that no one will ever love you, but we want you to know and understand that that is not so! We loved you very much Harry, and even in our death, we love you with all of our hearts. And don't ever doubt for a second that your special someone undoubtedly loves you with all of her heart as well! (Dad speaking.) After all, she would have to love you with all her heart in order for her to put with you son, considering we Potter boys have a tendency for trouble, hahaha! (Ouch! Your Mum just slapped me on the back of my head just now!) (Mum speaking now.) Don't listen to your father on that last bit Harry, I'm certain that your special someone does love you, regardless. After all, it took me nearly all seven of my school years to give your father a chance. (Between you and me, he was a bit of an arrogant toe-rag for the first six years. And now he's protesting about that.) Regardless son, you are loved by so many around you, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise Harry!**_

_**Love,**_

_**Mum and Dad.**_

Harry read the letter five more times, hardly believing what they were trying to say. He could feel the tears beginning to come into his eyes, as he read this message from my parents. Harry felt a hand touching his, and looked up into Ginny's eyes.

_**A/N: This particular chapter was starting to get really long, so I decided to split it into two parts. The second part will be posted as soon as possible, once it's finished. Please comment and vote.**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_


	4. The Inheritance part 2

Ginny took the letter that Griphook gave to her that was written by Harry's parents. She looked at the envelope, and saw the names of James and Lily Potter. She went ahead, and opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and started reading it.

_**Dear future Daughter-In-Law,**_

_**If you are reading this, then it means that we are unfortunately dead, and thus unable to meet you, and get to know you. We are sure that you are undoubtedly a kind and sweet girl, as you must be very special to Harry. Please take good care of our son, and give him as much love that we were unable to give him. If we were still alive, we are certain that we would've liked you, because if you are able to make Harry happy, then you are a truly amazing person. Please take good care of him, but please understand that if you hurt him, in any way shape or form, the ghost of Lily Potter will haunt and curse you forever! Other than that, please treat him right, take care of him, and love him with all your heart.**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**James and Lily Potter.**_

Ginny read the letter at least three more times, allowing the message to sink in. She knew what James and Lily Potter were asking of her, not that it was going to be a problem. Ginny truly did love Harry, and she would never dare think of doing anything to hurt him. She looked at Harry, and saw the tears that were forming in his eyes, and placed her hand on his. He looked up into her eyes, and she into his.

He showed her the letter that his parents had written for him, and she showed him the letter that she had received. Ginny read his letter, and as she read it, she couldn't help but cry as she read the message that his parents had left for him. When Ginny looked back at him, she saw a smile on his face, as he chuckled at the message that his parents left for her. He looked back at her, smiled at her, and she back at him. Suddenly Ginny began seeing images of Harry's childhood, the verbal abuse that he suffered, his fat uncle telling him multiple times that he was nothing but a freak, and that no one would ever want to be friends with him, that no one was ever going to love him. She realized that these were bits of Harry's memories, not all of it, as she felt that there was more that Harry wasn't ready to share with her just yet, but she was willing to wait until he was ready to tell her the full story. But regardless, Ginny was upset by what Harry had to go through, and she decided that she would talk to her mother and Professor Dumbledore, to see if there was a way that they could get Harry out of the Dursley house.

Ginny suppose that while she and Harry were in the middle of their little, telepathic connection, her mother and father must have picked up the letters, and read them.

"Ha, leave it to James to say something like that in a letter to his son!" Arthur Weasley had said, making Harry look at him in surprise, as he started laughing. "James always was one for getting into trouble, I remember that one time in his third year that he caused Professor Slughorn's cauldron catch fire when he tried to add an ingredient to his potion, and it turned out that it was the wrong ingredient that he had switched, and he got a month's worth of detention!"

Ginny had to admit, she was shocked to hear her father talk about Harry's father, as she had never known that he and her mother were acquainted with James and Lily Potter during their school days. Molly Weasley was even chuckling as well.

"Oh yes, I remember that as well, Lily and I both made it clear that we didn't find the prank amusing, but in secrecy we were laughing about it as well, even though Professor Slughorn was Lily's favorite teacher at Hogwarts." She commented, laughing with Mr. Weasley.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, you both knew my parents?"

Ginny turned to harry as he asked that question, and back at her parents, as they stopped laughing, and their faces dropped into sadness.

"Yes Harry, we did. We used to attend School with them, though we were at least three to four years ahead of them." Mrs. Weasley had answered, sighing as she was remembering Harry's parents. "Your mother was the kindest person, I had ever met. She had a heart of gold, and quite clearly, you undoubtedly inherited her kind heart."

"Your parents were truly amazing people Harry." Mr. Weasley added further. "Your father, in spite of his, arrogance and inflamed ego, was a good, and loyal friend who stuck by his friends no matter what. A sense of loyalty that you no doubt inherited from him."

Ginny looked at Harry, whose smile only grew as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were describing his parents, and how he was similar to them. It was enough to make the both of them cry. Harry and Ginny then turned back to Griphook, to receive the rest of Harry's inheritance.

"Now the next document that I am giving you, is the list of vaults that you, and Ms. Weasley, or rather _Mrs. Potter_, now own in your name, Mr. Potter." Griphook added, placing another piece of parchment in front of them. "As well as the family heirlooms and gems that are in your vaults as well."

Harry and Ginny took the parchment, and looked at the contents of the vaults.

School Trust Fund:

5,552 Galleons,

1,000 Sickles,

2,200 Knuts.

Potter Family Vault:

500, 0000, 0000 Galleon,

100, 0000, 0000 Sickles,

1,000,000 Knuts.

Evans Family Vault:

100, 000, 0000 Galleons,

5,000,000 Sickles,

1,000,000 Knuts.

Gryffindor Family Vault:

755, 888, 531 Galleons,

55, 352, 920 Sickles,

1, 543, 943 Knuts.

After Harry and Ginny saw how much they had in the vaults, Ginny could've sworn that their eyes popped out of their heads. She couldn't believe how much money Harry had! Ginny knew that the Malfoy Family was the richest wizarding family, in the wizarding community, but if what Harry had inherited was any indication, the Potter Family is actually richer than even the Malfoys. She looked at Harry, whose shocked face just made her laugh like crazy, but Ginny didn't really care about Harry's money, she cared about him for who he was, and nothing else.

Ginny watched as Harry showed the document to her family, who were all exclaiming in shock and surprise at how much Harry had in his possession.

_Harry, this is amazing, you're even richer than the Malfoys! _She said to him through their minds.

_I know, and technically, since we are sort of married, what's mine, is yours Ginny._ He replied to her, making Ginny blush.

Harry had to admit, he never thought that he could possibly come to own so much money, but he was shocked nonetheless, and he just couldn't believe how much he actually had. Harry knew that he truthfully didn't need all of that money, and he immediately had an idea. Harry looked at Griphook, who watched him with a look of interest.

"Griphook, just out of curiosity, how much does the Weasley Family Vault currently have in it?" Harry asked him, making the Weasley family look at him, bewildered looks on their face, including Ginny's.

"I'm honestly not quite sure Mr. Potter, I'd have to check with the Goblin who's in charge of managing the Weasley Family Accounts, but since the Weasley's just won that contest that they were in, and I believe it was 200 Galleons." He answered, his interest growing. "Why do you ask sir?"

"I want you to take half of what I currently have in my Gryffindor Vault, and put it into the Weasley Family Vault, effective immediately!" He answered him, shocking his new family in laws. "And regardless of any protests that they might try to give, I still want them to receive half of what I have in the Gryffindor Vault. And I also want to donate half of what I have in my Evans Family Vault, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, for whatever the headmaster deems fit. And also, I want to take a considerate amount of money out of my Potter Family Vault, and buy the new Firebolt broomstick for the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw Quidditch teams. That should give the Slytherin team a run for their money."

Harry heard Fred and George laugh like crazy at that remark, and Ron just simply had a look of awe on his face. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley however, just looked at him with looks of awe and happiness. As for Ginny, Harry could tell that she approved of his decisions, as she smiled, and held his hand.

"As you with Mr. Potter, it shall be done immediately." Griphook answered, writhing down the appropriate amounts that he requested to be made.

"But Harry dear that is your money!" Mrs. Weasley said, prompting Harry to turn to her. "We can't possibly just take that from you!"

"Molly is right Harry." Mr. Weasley then added. "As much as we appreciate it, we can't take your money!"

Harry understood where they were coming from. The Weasley's were a family with their own sense of pride, and he guessed that by offering to give them the amount of money that he was planning to give to them, they probably felt that he was intruding on their pride, which wasn't really his intention. Regardless, Harry intended for it to be a gift to them.

"I understand what you are saying Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but this is what I want to do." Harry said to them, adamant in his decision. "You've done so much for me in the short time that we've known each other. You've treated me like family, and in so many ways, I've felt like I am part of your family. So I'm giving you half of my money, so that you can be able to live comfortably. I know money doesn't mean anything, but at least you'll be able to do things that you weren't able to do before. Besides, since me and Ginny are soul bonded, and apparently married now, I want to help take care of my family."

That seemed to have hit the nail home, as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley accepted the funds that Harry was giving to them. Even Ron and his brothers were appreciative of the money that he was donating to them; except Percy for some reason. Even with all of the funds that Harry was donating to the Weasley Family, and to Hogwarts, he was still richer than the Malfoy Family. Harry couldn't help but smirk, thinking about the look on Draco Malfoy's face when he learns that his family is no longer the number one richest Wizarding family.

"Furthermore Mr. Potter, you also inherit your family's ancient home." Griphook said, catching his attention. "Potter Manor, which has been in your family for ten centuries, since the time of Godric Gryffindor! As well as the ancestral Gryffindor home: Gryffindor Castle."

"And where are Potter Manor, and Gryffindor Castle?" Harry asked him, interested in his family's ancient homes. "Where exactly are they located?"

"Potter Manor is about a mile north of Godric's Hollow, while Gryffindor Castle is a mile east of Godric's Hollow." Harry's eyes widened when Griphook answered where Potter Manor was located. "Godric's Hollow is your family's ancestral home Mr. Potter, ever since Godric Gryffindor."

"Wow!" He uttered, surprised by his heritage and inheritance.

"Oh, and before I forget, since you are the final heir of your father James Potter, you inherit his title of 'Lord Potter'." Now Harry swore his eyes had to have popped out of his head, and Griphook chuckled at his reaction. "Many Potter men in your family have held the title of lord, while the women who were either born, or married into the family, held the title of lady. Oh and I should also note an interesting fact that every woman who married into the Potter family, have all had red hair."

"Really?" He heard Mr. Weasley asked, making Harry look at Mr. Weasley, as he looked at him with a cheeky look in his eyes. "Sounds like Potter men have had a thing for redhead girls."

Harry couldn't help but blush at Mr. Weasley's comment, and he saw Ginny in the corner of his eye doing the same. Harry also saw Ron, his brothers, and Hermione chuckling at Harry and Ginny's reaction, and current state.

"Now before you go, there's a few more details about the Soul Bond that I believe that it'd be best for you to know."

Harry and Ginny looked at Griphook, interested in what else they were about to learn about their Soul Bond. Ginny truly was surprised by what Harry and she were receiving through his inheritance from his parents, but she honestly didn't really care about Harry's money. Ginny loved him for who he was: Harry Potter the boy, not Harry Potter the Boy Who Lived.

"From now, until you turn thirteen years old, you will remain as you are," Griphook began, which really confused Ginny, and she could tell that it confused Harry too. "After you've both turned thirteen, your bodies will begin to go through some ... changes."

_**A/N: Finally the second part of the inheritance is finished and put up. I tried to keep it to two parts, but it was starting to get longer than I had planned, so I've decided to make a third part, to sort of wrap the Inheritance chapters up, and continue with the rest of the story. Sorry it took so long to update, it's been a bit busy with work, other stories to work on, and I also have a DeviantArt page to update from time to time as well. Enjoy this new chapter, and please comment on the story so far.**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_


	5. The Inheritance part 3

_Recap: "Now before you go, there's a few more details about the Soul Bond that I believe that it'd be best for you to know."_

_Harry and Ginny looked at Griphook, interested in what else they were about to learn about their Soul Bond. Ginny truly was surprised by what Harry and she were receiving through his inheritance from his parents, but she honestly didn't really care about Harry's money. Ginny loved him for who he was: Harry Potter the boy, not Harry Potter the Boy Who Lived._

_"From now, until you turn thirteen years old, you will remain as you are," Griphook began, which really confused Ginny, and she could tell that it confused Harry too. "After you've both turned thirteen, your bodies will begin to go through some ... changes."_

Harry and Ginny looked at each other in complete confusion. They had absolutely no idea what Griphook was talking about, but they were going to find out soon.

"Allow me to clarify what I'm talking about." He commented, seeing the confused looks on their faces, and those evidently on Ginny's familys, Hagrid's, and Hermione's. "Once you've reached your thirteenth birthdays, your bodies will ... begin developing or maturing, for a lack of better words, at twice the standard rate it normally takes for humans. Therefore, in your case Mr. Potter, you will begin developing better muscles, and your eyesight will slightly improve so that you can probably be able to see a bit better without your glasses, but I would still recommend that you keep using them, at twice the normal rate than a boy your age. As for you, Mrs. Potter, your body will experience some more, drastic changes, than Mr. Potter. For one thing, it has been noted that the female partner in the Soul Bond will develop a curvier figure, and their breasts will fill out more as what they would through standard puberty. Also, both of you will notice that your powers will become stronger during this time period between your thirteenth birthdays, especially in the timeframe between your fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays. Which is why I must strongly recommend that during this time period between when you become fifteen to sixteen, that the both of you must be close to each other as you're going through these changes."

Harry and Ginny were surprised by what Griphook told them, that their bodies would go through such changes and decided to heed Griphook's advice.

"Understood Griphook." Harry answered to the goblin, who simply nodded his head to them. "Oh by the way, you said that the women who married into my family were given the title of 'Lady Potter', so does that mean that Ginny will not only become Ginny Potter, but does that mean she will also be Lady Ginny Potter?"

Ginny looked at Griphook, wondering what his answer will be.

"Correct Mr. Potter, since you are soon thirteen, and you're also getting your inheritance today, you are already recognized as Lord Potter." Griphook answering Harry's question. "And since Mrs. Potter is recognized as your wife through the Soul Bond, she was will also become Lady Ginny Potter."

"Wow!" Ginny said, which was all she could say.

"Ginny, this is amazing!" She heard Hermione say to her.

Ginny looked at Hermione, and opened her arms and pulled the bushy haired witch into her arms, hugging her. She was like the sister Ginny never had, and one of her best friends. She broke the hug, and looked back at Griphook.

"Is there anything else that Harry and I need to know about our Soul Bond?" She asked him, interested to know what else there might be about their bond.

Ginny watched Griphook closely, and noticed that he seemed to hesitate about something, but she wasn't entirely sure. The goblins hesitation passed quickly, as he looked at her and Harry.

"No, that's all for now. If there is anything else, I'll let you know." Griphook answered, but Ginny wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not. "Now then, I'm sure you would like to have the rest of the day to yourselves, so I wish you all, a good day."

Harry and Ginny stood up from their chairs, and with Hermione, Hagrid, and Ginny's family, they left Griphook's office. However, before the door closed completely, Ginny quickly looked back into the room, and saw Griphook watching her and Harry, and he seemed to be deep in thought about something, but the door closed before she could think of anything else. Ginny was still wondering if there was something else about her bond with Harry that Griphook didn't tell them about, but decided to wait for another time to come back and speak to him about it. For now, she wanted to spend as much time with Harry, before he had to go back to his muggle relatives. Ginny took his hand, and looked up into his emerald green eyes and smiled, making a mental note to talk to her parents to see if there was some way to get Harry out of his aunt and uncles house, so that he can stay with them instead, until they were able to move into either Potter Manor, or Gryffindor Castle together.

Griphook watched as the two young soul bonded preteens walked out of the office, and waited until the door fully closed, and pressed a concealed button. The button opened a hidden door, and the head goblin of Gringotts Bank walked into the room. Rockroof walked up to Griphook, who had stood up out of the chair, respecting his superior.

"Griphook, you did well informing the young couple of their inheritance, and their Soul Bond." Rockroof said to him. "However, I couldn't help but noticed that you didn't inform them of one particular piece of information about their bond."

Griphook knew what the head of the bank was talking about. He just wasn't sure how he was supposed to explain something to two young people, especially one of them who the information pertained to, and didn't want to get his hopes up. Griphook looked at Rockroof, and decided to explain his reasons.

"I didn't say anything about the other piece of information because I didn't want to get Mr. Potter's hopes up for nothing." Griphook explained, to the scrutiny of his bank superior. "According to the, admittedly old data that we have about the Soul Bond; a couple who are connected through such a bond, will for one time in their lives, be able to bring loved ones back to life during a shared moment of true love and raw passion during a time when the magical energy in the earth is at its strongest. Don't you think it's a little too far-fetched? After all, everyone in the magic community knows that there is no magic strong or powerful enough to bring back the dead."

Rockroof contemplated on Griphooks reason for not explaining this fact to Harry Potter and Ginny Potter née Weasley, and realized it was a valid point. He then turned to his fellow goblin.

"Very well, Griphook, I see your point." Rockroof answered, as Griphook nodded. "However, if this piece of information turns out to be true, I expect you to explain this to the two young bonded individuals, understood?"

"Yes, understood." Griphook answered, still unsure if the information was worth mentioning to the bonded preteens.

After that, the two goblins left the office room, and proceeded to their own assigned offices, each with their own duties within Gringotts Bank.

_**A/N: This is the final part of the Inheritance chapters, which is why it's slightly shorter than the first two Inheritance parts. Quite the cliffhanger here though, wouldn't you say? If the information that Griphook withheld from Harry and Ginny is indeed true, then what could that mean? Guess we'll just have to wait and see.**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_


	6. The Vaults and Big News

Harry and Ginny left Gringotts with Ginny's family, Hermione, and Hagrid who said he had to leave for Hogwarts, but wished Harry and Ginny congratulations on their Soul Bond. As the large man left, they watched him go until he was finally gone from view, which took quite a good while since he was a big man. After that, Mr. Weasley said that he had to go as well, that he needed to get back to work.

"I wish you could stay with us a little while longer Arthur." Mrs. Weasley said to her husband.

"I know Molly, I wish I could too." The patriarch of the Weasley Family replied to his wife, kissing her, before looking to Harry. "Oh and Harry, I just want to say welcome to the family, and if there's one person that I'm glad that Ginny could be Soul Bonded with, it's you. Just please don't hurt her or anything."

"Don't worry Mr. Weasley, I won't." Mr. Weasley smiled as his new son-in-law replied to him. "I would rather die, before I even thought of hurting Ginny!"

"Good boy, and please, you're family now!" Mr. Weasley said to him, ruffling his already untidy hair, eliciting giggles from the two girls, and laughs from the remaining boys. "Call me Arthur, or if you'd rather, dad."

Harry couldn't believe the offer he was being given by Arthur Weasley, an offer to call him "Dad". Ever since Harry met him the summer last, Harry figured he could come to see him as a father figure, just as he viewed Molly Weasley as a mother figure, and now he was being given a chance to actually call him dad. He smiled as he looked up at his new father-in-law.

"Sure thing, Dad!" Harry finally answered, making a smile appear on the red-haired man as the word slid off his tongue easily.

Arthur Weasley smiled as he heard that word from Harry, and pulled him into a hug. Once he let go of Harry, he hugged Ginny, kissing her on the top of her head, and hugged each of his sons, and Hermione, before kissing his wife one more time and apparated back to the Ministry of Magic. Molly Weasley then turned to Harry, a smile on her face as well. She was still surprised that Harry and Ginny were now married, but she was also glad to have Harry in her family. She would do anything for the messy raven haired boy, and vowed that she was going to find a way to get him out of his muggle relatives' house, no matter what.

"Harry, would you like to spend some more time with Ginny and the rest of us before you go home?" Mrs. Weasley asked her son-in-law, smiling as she knew what his answer might be.

Harry__couldn't help but smile at the offer that Mrs. Weasley made to him, and he definitely had no intentions of turning it down. He looked up at his new mother-in-law, and was fully prepared to accept her offer. Of course, Harry knew that he needed to be back at 4 Privet Drive at exactly 3 o'clock, but fortunately he had plenty of time.

"I'd like that very much, Mum." Harry said to her, bringing a smile to Mrs. Weasley's face. "I just actually need to take Ginny back into Gringotts to do something real quick."

"Oh that's quite alright Harry, take your time." Harry smiled as Mrs. Weasley said this. "We'll be right over here when you're done."

After that, Harry looked over to his new wife.

_'Man I'm gonna have to get used to calling Ginny that now. I was prepared to call her my girlfriend, but not "wife" immediately, but truth be told, I actually kind of liked it. Still gonna have to get used to saying that first however, given how young we are.'_ Harry thought to himself.

"Everything ok Harry?" Ginny asked him, concern in her eyes.

Harry smiled at Ginny, looking at her lovingly. "Yeah, everything's ok Gin." He answered, chuckling as her face blushed at his new nickname for her. "So, before we go and do anything else, Ginny, do you want to real quick take a look in our vaults?" He asked his red-haired princess, placing his eyes on her. "It should only take a minute."

"Sure thing Harry, that sounds like a good idea." Ginny answered, a smile on her face.

Ginny followed Harry back into Gringotts, leaving her mother, brothers, and Hermione outside so that they could have a little privacy. As they walked into the bank, they held each other's hands, as they approached Griphook.

"Griphook!" Harry yelled out, catching the attention of the goblin Potter account manager.

"Ah, Lord and Lady Potter, back already?" He asked them, genuinely interested in their return. "Is there something else that you wished to discuss?"

Ginny knew that she was going to have to get used to being addressed as "Lady Potter" and "Mrs. Potter", but she figured that she was going to enjoy it. After all, Ginny was married to Harry, and she wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the whole world.

"Yes Griphook, Harry and I decided that we would like to see our vaults. If it isn't too much trouble." Ginny asked the goblin, beating Harry to the punch as he was about to ask the question. She couldn't help but giggle at the annoyed look that Harry plastered on his face, but it was just too cute for her.

"Not at all Lady Potter, it isn't any trouble at all. Follow me please." Griphook said, motioning for the two preteens to follow suit.

Griphook led them to the vaults section of the bank, and motioned for Harry and Ginny to get into one of the carts. Once they were in the cart, Griphook started up right away, and the cart sped off into the caverns below the bank, picking up speed as they whisked along the rails towards the vaults that Harry and Ginny owned. As the cart was rolling along, it was only for a brief second but Ginny could've sworn she had seen Draco Malfoy and his slimy git of a father go pass them, and she thought Harry saw it too, but since it was only a short moment they weren't exactly sure. The cart finally stopped outside four vaults. Griphook disembarked first, and allowed Harry and Ginny to get out, with Harry getting out first, and then he helped Ginny out.

_'Boy am I lucky to have him as my soulmate.'_ Ginny thought to herself.

"Behold, Lord and Lady Potter, your vaults." Griphook said, waving his arm extravagantly at the four vaults. "You actually were in the first vault on the far left Lord Potter, since it is your trust vault. The second vault from the left, is your Evans vault, left to you by your mother. The third vault, which is the second largest vault you own, is your Potter vault, left to you by your father. The fourth and final vault, which is the largest of all of your vaults, is your Gryffindor Vault, left to you by your ancestor Godric Gryffindor. Which vault would you like to enter first, Lord and Lady Potter?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, both of them in deep contemplation as to which vault to choose.

_Why don't we go into your Potter Vault first Harry?_ Ginny mentally asked him, thinking it would be best to go in there first. _Then we can go into the Evans vault, and then we'll go into your Gryffindor Vault for last._

_Ok Gin, but they're your vaults too you know._ Harry agreed, making her blush at his nickname for me. _After all, what's mine, is yours now too._

Ginny couldn't help but smile at Harry's comment, but she knew that he was right. Since they were married because of their Soul Bond that meant that Harry's vaults were hers as well now. But she didn't care about the vaults, or the riches and family artifacts within them, Ginny cared about Harry. After sharing a quick kiss on his lips, Harry and Ginny turned to Griphook, who was waiting patiently for their answer.

"We'll go into our Potter Vault first Griphook." Harry told him, enunciating and looking at Ginny, as he said the word "our", making her blush and smile in embarrassment, which she knew he wasn't trying to do.

Ginny looked up as Griphook nodded and opened the Potter Vault, and she felt her jaw literally drop open, as she saw the massive amount of gold, galleon, Knuts, sickles, family artifacts, and jewels that were held within the vault. She remembered that Griphook aid that this was their second largest vault, with the Evans Vault as the third, and the Gryffindor Vault as the largest vault. If this vault was the second largest, with all of these riches in here, who knows what Harry and Ginny might find in the Gryffindor Vault. Harry and Ginny agreed to separate their hands long enough so that they could explore and take a look in the vault.

As Ginny explored the vault, she found a beautiful ruby necklace that had some gold etchings and details around the stone, and even the chain itself was gold. She knew Harry said that what was in the vault was both of theirs, but she couldn't help but wonder if he'd let her wear and keep it. In the end, she knew that he would, and that he'd probably like to see her wear something from the vault, so Ginny open the latch, and put the necklace on, carefully placing the beautiful necklace where it could be seen by Harry.

Harry could believe his eyes as he saw the amount of riches in his and Ginny's vault. He knew that with the combined finances of the four vaults that he had, that what Ginny and he had in this vault was merely a fraction of what they owned, and he seriously wished Draco Malfoy could be here to see this, at least so that he could rub the fact that Ginny and he were now richer than him and his family, and laugh at the expression on his face. As Harry explored the room, he found a red velvet pillow, with gold linings along the seams, with two rings sitting on it. He picked up one of the rings, and examined it; it was a beautiful gold band, with an emerald stone in the center, and an inscription on the inside. It read: _To my beloved Lily, your eyes have always been one of many things that I've love about you, and I hope the stone on this ring shows my love and devotion for you_. Harry realized that these had to have been his parents wedding rings, and the one he held in his hands had to have been his mother's.

Harry asked Griphook for confirmation as to whether these were indeed his parents wedding rings, and he nodded his head, confirming Harry's belief. He knew that if anyone should have his mother's wedding ring, it was Ginny, and he truly believe that his mother probably would've agreed with him. Harry decided to change the inscription on the ring, and it now said: _To my beloved Ginny, I've felt something special about you, and I'm glad I found it. I love you with all my heart_. After that, Harry called out for Ginny, and when she came over, he held the ring that he had for her behind his back.

"Something wrong Harry?" She asked him, concern in her eyes.

"No Gin, but I have something for you." Harry answered her, seeing the excitement in her yes. "Just real quick, close your eyes."

Harry mentally chuckled as Ginny looked at him with a bewildered look on her face, but did as he asked. Harry made sure that the two of them were standing in front of the velvet red pillow with his father's wedding ring still on it. He brought his mother's ring from behind his back, and told Ginny to open her eyes. He smiled at the look of surprise on her face, as she gasped in shock as she saw the ring in his hand. He took her hand, and placed the ring on her finger, and watched as it magically shrank to properly fit her finger.

"I found my Mum and Dad's wedding rings, and figured that it'd be appropriate for us to wear them." Harry told her, seeing the tears of joy welling up in her eyes. "In fact, this ring was my Mum's ring, and I know that she would've wanted you to have it."

"Harry, it's beautiful, and I'm honored to be able to wear your mother's ring." She said, locking her lips onto Harry's in a kiss, and he returned it.

Ginny couldn't believe how big of a romantic that Harry was, seeing the ring that belonged to his mother that now rested on her finger. She finally noticed the second ring that rested on the pillow next to themselves, and realized that it had to have been his father's ring. Picking up the ring, Ginny did the same thing that Harry did with her, and watched as the ring shrunk to properly fit on his finger. Looking up into his eyes, she was about to kiss him again until they were interrupted by Griphook, who was clearing his throat to get their attention.

"Apologizes Lord and Lady Potter, but there was one thing I accidentally forgot about your inheritance." He said, after we looked at him. "But included in your inheritance, I was supposed to give you your House Potter rings, to symbolize your positions as the new heads of the Ancient and Noble house of Potter."

He then pushed his hand into his pocket, and pulled out two more rings. The rings were both gold, and had a large facet on the top that had half of a ruby, and half of a gold piece, with a large "P" emblazoned on the top of the ones. Harry and Ginny realized that the two stones represented the house colors of Gryffindor House, showing the Potter Family's proud heritage from Godric Gryffindor. Griphook gave the rings to both Harry and Ginny, and they placed the rings on the same ring fingers as their wedding rings, and watched as they melded with the wedding rings into one ring. After that, they then took a look in the Evans Vault, and found it in a similar fashion as the Potter Vault, but it also had some journals in the vault as well.

As Ginny looked around the vault, she found a journal that was written by Harry's mother, and took a look in it. The inscription read: _Improvements on wolfsbane potion for Remu_s. I wondered who this "Remus" was, but Ginny figured that he must've been a close friend to Lily Potter, and that he must've been a werewolf in order for him to require wolfsbane. As she opened the journal and read it, Ginny was slowly beginning to realize that the potion that Lily Potter was working on wasn't the normal type of wolfsbane, but a version that could actually cure someone inflicted with lycanthropy. She decided to take the journal, hoping to find this Remus and give him the journal. As Harry and Ginny finished looking around the vault, they decided to take a look in the Gryffindor Vault.

As the door to the Gryffindor Vault opened, Harry was honestly shocked by how much stuff there was in it. It wasn't just jewels, riches, and artifacts as he expected, but also tapestries, weapons, journals and the entire history of the Gryffindor family. Harry looked around the vault, amazed by all of the items that his ancestor left him. One item that caught his eye was a journal that held his ancestors emblem, the same emblem that represented Gryffindor House back at Hogwarts. Harry picked it up, and looked through it, discovering that it was a journal of spells that Godric Gryffindor created himself. As Harry looked through it, Ginny came up and looked over his shoulder to see what he was reading.

"What's this Harry?" She asked him, placing a hand on the back of his shoulder, letting him know that she was there. "A journal?"

"Yeah, a journal left by Godric, with spells that he created himself." Harry answered, looking through the pages, until there was one spell that caught his eye. "Ginny, look at this!"

Ginny looked at the spell that he was pointing to, and gasped in surprise.

_**Livada Kedavra – The counter spell to Avada Kedavra, this spell will undo the effects of the killing curse. This spell is capable to essentially be able to bring someone back from death, as I successfully used it to revive a dear friend of mine who was killed via the Avada Kedavra curse. However, I've also done some tweaking, and now the Livada Kedavra spell can be used to bring someone back to life, whether they have been killed through Avada Kedavra, or died in a different manner. However, due to the implications of this spell, I decided to place a fail-safe on the spell; only I, someone within my family bloodline, or my descendants can be able to use this spell, along with the spouses of my descendants. If it is the wish of my descendants, other wizards and witches can use this spell, but only those who my descendants and their spouses trust most, and by their approval only.**_

Harry couldn't believe that his ancestor actually created a magic spell that could bring someone back from the dead. He remembered in Charms class that Professor Flitwick said that there was no spell that could bring people back from death, but here was one now. After reading Godric's description of the fail safe that he placed on the spell, Harry figured that he made the right choice by making that fail safe. If Voldemort's followers knew of this spell, they could use it to bring Voldemort back from the dead. As he continued to ponder on the spell, Ginny gently took the journal out of his hands, and read another spell from it.

_**Lion's Fyre – Similar to Fiendfyre, this type of pyro spell is far more controllable, and easier to extinguish. Unlike Fiendfyre, Lion's Fyre takes on the shape and roar of a lion, and can be used by others whom are taught this spell by either me, a member of my family, or my descendant and his/her spouse.**_

_**Hoctras – This spell that I created allows the spell user to track down a Horcrux. When the spell is spoken out, the spell user will feel a slight tugging feeling at the end of their wand, and as you are getting closer to the Horcrux, the tugging will become stronger. This spell was initially created to be used only by me, and a member of my family, as well as any of my descendants and their spouses. However, I decided to teach my students at Hogwarts this spell, and I hope that one day, it'll be more useful if others knew of this spell, rather than keep it strictly restricted to my family.**_

_**Crucio Sana - This spell is capable of healing someone who has been attacked and tortured by the Cruciatus curse. I also designed and tweaked this healing spell to restore and heal the mental injuries of an individual who was tortured so badly to the point of insanity. This spell can be performed by anyone who wishes to heal someone that they care about, however I must advise that this spell is to be used responsibly and respectfully.**_

As Ginny looked at more spells that Gryffindor made, Harry soon found what looked like a sword scabbard. It was ornate silver, with rubies encrusted along the sides. The strange thing about it however, was that it was empty. Harry looked around the vault to see if he could find the sword that belonged to the scabbard, and then it finally dawned on him: this was the scabbard for the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, the very sword that he used to kill the Basilisk, thus saving Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets not too long ago. He showed the scabbard to Griphook, and he explained that the goblins were instructed to inform Gryffindor's heirs that the scabbard and the sword were magically linked, meaning that if Harry ever needed the sword, it would appear in the scabbard, and he could pull it out.

Using magic to shrink the scabbard, Harry put it into his pocket, along with Gryffindor's spell journal, and a few other trinkets, and left with Ginny. Once they got back into the lobby, and as they were about to leave, Griphook stopped us.

"Lord and Lady Potter, there actually was one other thing about your Soul Bond that I forgot to mention!" Griphook said, catching their attention. Harry and Ginny looked at Griphook, eager to hear what he might've left out about the Soul Bond that they shared. Though what he had to say, definitely threw them off, as Harry and Ginny didn't expect to hear it.

"The two of you must remain by each other's sides, for the next twenty-four hours, or else you will die!''

_**I will leave on this little cliffhanger, and hold on any more information for the next chapter. What do you think of the story so far? Please vote and comment!**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_


	7. Rest of the Day, & the Malfoy

_**A/N: Any words that are italicized, represents a communication between Harry and Ginny. Words that are italicized and bold, are letters and book paragraphs that are being read. Words that are italicized and between this symbol: ~ are flashback moments, or memories that are being viewed in the Pensieve.**_

Ginny just couldn't believe what Griphook had just told her and Harry. If she and Harry weren't together for twenty-four hours, then they were going to die!

'_I guess that there has to be a little downside to equalize the good on some things or something._' Ginny thought.

Ginny looked at Harry, and she easily saw the concern and fear in his eyes, but through their empathy link, she could feel that his fear and concern was mostly for her, not him. She couldn't help but feel somewhat pleased that Harry was concerned for her, since she herself was feeling the same for him.

"So, what exactly do we do?" Ginny asked Griphook, looking back at the goblin.

"Basically I would recommend that the both of you must stay side by side of each other for the next twenty-four hours, until the Bond has had a chance to settle in." Griphook continued to explain, motioning for two other goblins to grab some chairs, and brought them over to Harry and Ginny to sit in, which they did. "I would also strongly recommend that your parents put in a request for guardian custody for Lord Potter as well Lady Potter, that way, the two of you can continue to strengthen the Bond between you."

Harry and Ginny nodded to Griphook, understanding what the Goblin was saying. As they got up to leave, Griphook grabbed Harry's arm, and produced two letter from his coat.

"One more thing before I forget Lord Potter, I have two letters, one from your mother, and another from your father, written for a specific professor at Hogwarts." He explained, handing them over to Harry, and Ginny felt Harry's shock when he saw the name of the professor that they were for. "They specifically told me to hand them to you, so that you could give them to their designated recipient."

"SEVERUS SNAPE!?" He exclaimed, making her eyes widen in shock. "Why would my parents write a couple of letters to Snape?"

"From what I understood, your mother and Professor Snape used to be close friends when they were young, and had a sort of falling out in their fifth year at Hogwarts." Griphook said, making Harry look even more shocked. "As for your father, I know that he and Snape were once rivals, and so I can only assume that his letter is probably an apology letter to Snape, but I'm not quite sure. I'm merely a banker Lord Potter, not a mailman."

Ginny couldn't help but chuckle at the attempted joke that Griphook had made. She looked at Harry, and she could still see the confused look on his face, so she gently took the letters out of his hand, and placed them safely in her pocket, and kissed him on his cheek, comforting him. After he finally looked at her, she saw the smile that she had come to enjoy and love seeing on his face.

"I believe that that will be all for today. If either one of your still have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me and let me know." Griphook said, finally finished with the preteens, and bowing to them. "Good day Lord and Lady Potter."

Harry and Ginny bowed back at him, and proceeded to leave the bank. As they did so, they started have a mental conversation in their heads, discussing what they just learned.

_Wow, I can't believe that we're going to die if we don't stay together for twenty-four hours! _She said to Harry, opening the mental link between them.

_Don't worry Gin, I won't let that happen, I promise! _Harry replied, comforting her. _I would rather have you still alive, rather than dead. If anything happened to you, I don't think I'd be able to keep going._

Ginny couldn't help but smile and laugh as Harry said that, feeling pleased that he would do anything for her. If anything, it just made her love him even more. Then another, somewhat grim thought came into her mind.

_Harry, what exactly are we going to say to my family? _She asked, somewhat scared at what her mother's reaction was going to be. _I mean, how do we tell them that we need to stay together for the first twenty-four hours until our Bond has settled in, or else we die?_

_I don't know Ginny, but I promise that no matter what, I'm not going to leave your side, whatsoever. _He answered back, a feeling of determination coming over her, as she felt his determination to stay with her through their empathy link._ Even if I have to run away from the Dursley's house just to do it._

Ginny couldn't help but feel some sort of, intense pain coming from Harry, as he thought of his muggle relatives, or at the very least his Muggle uncle; his feelings about his Muggle aunt and cousin were more positive. Then all of a sudden, as quick as the feeling came, it vanished, and she realized that Harry had closed that part of his feelings off, so that she couldn't feel it through their Bond. She realized that there was something that he wasn't telling her, something to possibly to do with his muggle uncle. Ginny figured that maybe either Ron or Hermione might know what it might've been, since they were his best friends. She decided that she would ask Hermione, since she was her best friend, and she knew that she would be a bit more open than Ron, especially if it had something to do with Harry's self-safety.

_Harry, is there something wrong?_ Ginny asked him, just hoping that she wouldn't have to go around his back with either her brother, or Hermione.

_What? Of course, everything's fine! _He replied back to her, but even through their Bond, she could tell that he was lying about something.

_Are you sure Harry? There isn't anything that you're hiding from me in regards to your muggle relatives or at least about your uncle? _Ginny then asked, trying to press him further into telling her the truth. _You know you can tell me anything Harry, I want to be able to know that you can trust me with anything, no matter what._

_I do trust you Ginny, but there are a few things that I just don't want anyone else to know, not even Ron and Hermione, until I am ready to let others know about them._ Harry replied, hesitating on what to say exactly to her. She felt his grip on her hand tighten, not enough to hurt her hand, but just enough for her to know that he was not comfortable with not telling her the full truth. _Come on, let's go rejoin our family and tell them what we just learned._

Ginny nodded her head, signifying that she was agreeing with what he said, and continued to walk with him. As they were about to rejoin Ginny's mother, brothers, and Hermione, they saw that they were rejoined by Ginny's father, as well as unfortunately Draco Malfoy, and his dad. This definitely can't be good.

Harry couldn't help but feel his anger start to rise, as he saw that slimy git Lucius Malfoy, as he remembered what he tried to do to Ginny in their recently finished year at Hogwarts. When he slipped Tom Riddle's (Voldemort's) Diary into Ginny's cauldron, leading to her accidently opening the Chamber of Secrets, and he even had the audacity to deny it, when Harry confronted him about it. Seeing Lucius Malfoy now, Harry felt a desire to really curse and hex him, that's how much he was really angry to see him. Harry guess Ginny must've felt what he was feeling and thinking of, cause he felt her grip on his hand tighten, just enough to make him calm down, but he still had a bit of anger in him.

As Harry and Ginny got closer, they started hearing what Draco and his father were saying to Hermione, and their family.

"Yeah right Weasley, as if Potter would have any interest in your sister whatsoever, much less a "_Soul Bond_" with her!" Draco scoffed, making Harry's blood boil, as he knew that he was talking about Ginny. "Your sister is nowhere near as good for him, especially after what happened in regards to the Chamber of Secrets incident."

"Now, now Draco, let's not get too carried away." Lucius Malfoy said, lightly scolding his son, but doing no effort to conceal the smirk on his face. "After all, perhaps it would be appropriate for young mister Potter to be with a blood traitor Weasley, since he spends all his time with filthy mud-bloods like Granger."

That was it for Harry, his anger had just reached its limit. He took my hand out of Ginny's, and quickly strode over to Draco, spinning him around to face him, and raised his fisted right hand, slamming it into his nose, hearing it distinctively crack as it broke, with blood spurting out of it. As Draco tried to stop the bleeding, Lucius tried to pull his wand out, but Harry was faster than him, and with a wave of his wand, once he pulled it out, he was flying across the courtyard of Gringotts, and landed in a heap. Draco ran over to his father, still holding onto his nose, and Harry looked at my right hand, and saw that he had busted the skin open, and his own blood was starting to seep out of it, but he honestly didn't care about that at the moment, and he looked back at the two Malfoys.

"No one, and I mean _no one,_ insults my family!" Harry snarled at them, venom in his voice. "And I will not allow you to call my best friend, who is like a sister to me, or my wife any nasty names. If you do, I'll make sure you'll regret it. Now get out of my sight, Malfoys! And one more thing Mr. Malfoy, I don't forget what people do to the people that I care about, and that includes what you did to Ginny, in regards to the diary. And as for you Draco, for someone who, admit-ably, does has some value as a student, and possibly a person, you have an unfortunate habit of wasting it by wanting to be just like your dad, when you could just simply be your own person, and actually have friends who really care about you."

Lucius Malfoy sneered at Harry, as if he wanted to retort something back to him, but couldn't, while Draco, very clearly had a look of self-confusion on his face. Harry wasn't entirely sure, but he was sure that Draco was thinking about what he had just said to him. In the end, Lucius used his wand to heal Draco's nose, and straightened his cloak. As he walked away from Harry's group, he turned to look at Harry and Ginny as he took her hand back into his. As he turned to look at his, he mainly kept his focus on their faces, but fortunately didn't look at their hands to see the rings.

"At least allow me to congratulate you and you're new, _wife, _Mr. Potter." He sneered, as he gave the two an unwanted piece of congratulations, and a twisted smile began to form on his face. "Enjoy your time with her as best as you can, because I know for a fact, that if you and your Soul Bond Mate aren't together for the first twenty-four hours ..."

Lucius laughed at the comment, and left dragging a clearly conflicted Draco with him. As Harry watched the Malfoys leave, he, along with Ginny, felt Hermione and the Weasleys looking at him and Ginny, and he could tell that they were concerned about what Mr. Malfoy just said.

_Well, this is certainly _not_ how I wanted my parents and brothers to learn about the twenty-four time limit. _Ginny said through their bond.

_Yep, same here Gin, but there's nothing we can do now but explain it to them before they get over concerned. Harry _answered, knowing how Mrs. Weasley could get sometimes.

With that in mind, Harry and Ginny turned to look at the rest of the Weasleys and his honorary sister. The concerned looks on their faces were really difficult for him to face, but he knew that they deserved to know the truth. Harry took a big breath, and started to explain about the time limit.

_**A/N: Going to leave on this little cliffhanger, but I will make another post.**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_


	8. The Big News

Ginny could sense that Harry was apprehensive about telling her mother and father, along with her brothers and Hermione about what they had learned from Griphook about their Bond, especially after what Lucius Malfoy had said. She took his hand to let him know that he wasn't alone, and that everything was going to be alright. He looked into her eyes, and made sure that he knew that he was going to be fine, and that she was right there with

"Harry, Ginny what was Lucius talking about in regards to twenty-four hours?" Molly Weasley asked them, concern in her voice as she looked at Harry and her daughter.

Arthur Weasley must've recognized that Molly was getting nervous, and wrapped his arm around her, which was actually what Harry was doing for Ginny too. Weird how he and Mr. Weasley seem to be thinking the same as each other in that moment. Ginny looked at Harry, and nodded her head, letting him know that they'd best get it over with. He took a big breath, and they both began explaining about what Griphook had just told them about the twenty-four hour time limit.

Finally it was Ron who broke the silence.

"So let me get this straight, you and Harry need to stay at each other's side for twenty-four hours, or else both of you are going to die?" He asked them, clearly concerned for his best friend and sister.

"Basically, yeah Ron." Harry answered, hesitantly. "And honestly, I'm not so sure if my uncle Vernon Dursley will let me go to your home just so I can be able to be with Ginny."

"Oh now don't you worry about that Harry!" Mrs. Weasley said, determination setting into her voice. "Arthur and I will have something to say about that."

Ginny couldn't help but feel confused by what her mother had just said, and when she looked at Harry, she could tell that he was just as confused. So they just looked back at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, hoping to get some clarification on Mrs. Weasley's comment.

"What do you mean by that Mum?" Harry asked, hoping to get some kind of clarity.

It was Mr. Weasley who spoke next, for the first time since he came back from the Ministry, no doubt at some point when Harry and Ginny were in Gringotts.

"Thanks to some help and permission from Amelia Bones in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Molly and I, have a custody release paper for the Dursleys to sign, thus the Dursleys will have to let Harry come with us tonight."

Harry couldn't believe what Mr. Weasley had just said! Custody release papers? That means that he wouldn't have to go back to the Dursleys at the end of the school year every summer anymore, and that he would not only be able to be with Ginny, but he would also be able to be with a family that really _loved_ him. A family that _wants _him! And the Weasley Family was that family, after all, Mrs. Weasley took him in when Ron, Fred, and George went to get him last year with their dad's flying ford Anglia, and fed him. Of course, he would more than likely miss his aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley, they were the only Dursley's who actually cared about him, unlike his uncle Vernon.

"Would you like that Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked Harry, evidently a bit concerned that he didn't give an immediate answer to what he said." I know that it would be a big change, but I'm certain that it would be worth it."

Harry thought long and hard about what he was being offered by his father-in-law. It was a clear chance of having a better life, a chance to not only be with a loving family, but to also be with the girl that he loved. Truth be told he'd be a fool and an idiot not to accept the offer.

"I'd like that very much, Dad." Harry told him, a smile creeping its way onto his face.

Hermione and the Weasley's all smiled at Harry's evident happiness, and for the rest of the day, they spent the time together. At around twelve fifty, Hermione had to leave, but before then, we were able to get a lot of pictures together. Harry, Ron, and Hermione would get their pictures together as a group picture, and they even had one of them, and Ginny included, and several times it was either Harry and Hermione, or Harry and Ron, but most of the time, Harry and Ginny. They even had a group picture of Harry, Ginny, and the entire Weasley Family that was taken, as well as one of all of them, and Hermione included as well; after all, she was like a sister to Harry, and she was part of his family, just as Ginny and the Weasley's were. Harry even saw a fountain, and wanted to recreated the picture of his parents with him and Ginny, and it was taken, along with a picture of Harry and Ginny kissing each other.

Unfortunately it soon got to two forty-five, and Harry had to get back to 4 Privet Drive before three o'clock. The Weasley's decided to go with him, to make sure that the Dursleys would sign the papers. After they apparated, or for some of the group, (Harry, Ginny, Ron, Fred and George), side apparated, to the secluded and deserted playground at the end of Privet Drive. They started walking towards the house that was like a prison to Harry due to his uncle, and quite honestly, he was starting to feel nervous, and apprehensive about what was to come.

Harry guess Ginny must've sensed his feelings, because she took ahold of his hand, and gently squeezed it, calming him.

_It's going to be ok Harry. Mum and Dad are going to make sure that nothing happens. And I'll be with you all the time. _She told him, using their bond to send him the message.

_I know Ginny, it's just ... I've been trapped with the Dursleys for so long, that I honestly never thought that I'd ever be able to get out from them. _Harry told her, being careful not to say anything about what he had gone through with them. _I never really felt like I had a home with the Dursleys, on account of my uncle, it always felt more like a prison. My aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley tried to help make my life a bit better, in spite of Uncle Vernon. But now, I actually have a chance to be free, and be with a family that I know will love me, and a girl that I can be glad to call my special someone._

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the blush on Ginny's face, and quickly placed a kiss on her cheek. Soon they stood in front of number four privet drive, and Harry's apprehension came back, despite Ginny holding his hand. It was even worse because he saw his Uncle Vernon's car sitting in the driveway, which meant that he got home from work early.

"Well, here we go." Harry said, speaking out loud this time, as he walked towards the door.

Just before Harry grabbed the doorknob to open the door, it flung open, and a meaty hand grabbed his arm, and yanked him into the house, ripping his hand out of Ginny's, and the door was slammed shut in the faces of the Weasley's. In front of Harry now, was the purple face of his fat whale of an uncle, Vernon Dursley, and he looked very angry.

"Boy, you are in _big trouble_!"

_**A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a little short, but I can assure you, this chapter is a bit of a filler chapter.**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_


	9. Changes part 1

_**Several minutes before Harry returns to 4 Privet Drive**_

Petunia Dursley stood in her room, after carefully making sure that her, albeit, whale of a husband Vernon wasn't coming up the stairs, and carefully opened a secret compartment in her dresser, where she kept the secret pictures, of her nephew Harry Potter. When Petunia found Harry on her and Vernon's doorstep, Vernon had immediately wanted to get rid of him, take him to an orphanage, but Petunia couldn't bring herself to do it. The note she read from Albus Dumbledore had stated that her sister Lily had died, protecting her only son, Petunia's nephew, making Harry the only connection she had left of her sister. She had even secretly kept the birth card from Lily, announcing Harry's birth. When Petunia read the letter, she realized that she was a fool for never making amends with her sister, and that she would never have a chance to do so, except by taking care of Harry. She argued with Vernon, in hopes of convincing him to allow Harry to stay with them, to which he relented.

Unfortunately, Vernon stated that in order for Harry to stay, Petunia was not permitted to show him any affection; that she was forbidden to show Harry any love, otherwise he was going to the orphanage. Petunia had wanted to argue against Vernon's ultimatum, but felt that no amount of arguing would convince Vernon to change his mind, and agreed, with great regret. While Petunia kept her promise to Vernon, she secretly did the opposite, showing Harry great amount of love whenever Vernon wasn't home. When Vernon was gone out of the house, Petunia showed Harry the affection and love that she knew that he deserved, and made sure that Dudley did the same, in which she was successful, but had to regrettably make it appear as though she didn't whenever Vernon was home. And every time that Vernon "disciplined'' Harry, Petunia felt as though a piece of her died, every time she had to watch her husband hit Harry, or punish him for things that he didn't even do.

As for Dudley, he secretly loved his cousin, as though Harry was like a brother, but like Petunia, he too had to make it appear to his father as though he hated his cousin. Thus the pictures; the pictures were secretly taken by Petunia over the years, showing how much Harry had grown up, the times whenever he and Dudley played with each other when Vernon wasn't in the house, or the group pictures with Petunia, and her two boys together. Though Petunia didn't like it, Harry knew and understood the reason why she and Dudley had to make Vernon believe that she was keeping her promise. Because as much as she loved her nephew, Petunia was also afraid of her husband. She was afraid of what he could do to her, if he discovered that she had secretly broken her promise, and repeatedly showed Harry affection and love, and taught their son to do the same, despite whatever Vernon said about Harry.

When Harry had asked Petunia permission to go to Diagon Alley to get some things for school so that he was ready for what his Hogwarts letter said that he needed, she agreed, but stated that he was to specifically be back home at three o'clock, before Vernon got home from work. Unfortunately, Vernon had returned home early, and he wasn't happy to find that Harry was not home, and Petunia was afraid of what Vernon would do to her only nephew. Truth be told, Petunia was beginning to grow tired of letting Vernon push her around, of having to watch him beat Harry, and not being able to do anything about it. As she looked through the pictures, she looked out the window, and saw Harry walking towards the house with a family of redheads. What Petunia found interesting, was that Harry was holding hands with what appeared to be the only girl in the family, a girl who, like the rest of her family, had red hair, a splash of freckles across her face, and from what she could see from where she was standing, brown eyes. Petunia couldn't help but chuckle at seeing Harry holding hands with a girl who had red hair, as it reminded her of Lily and Harry's father James.

However, Petunia remembered that Vernon was home earlier than what she and Harry had expected, and now her amusement was replaced by fear, of what Vernon would do to Harry. Quickly putting the pictures away, Petunia tried to run downstairs, in hopes that she could intercept Vernon before he could do anything to Harry. Unfortunately, Petunia had arrived too late, as she watched as Vernon open the door, and harshly pull Harry into the house, and slammed the door shut, locking it, and pinned Harry against the wall. Trying to think of a way to defuse the situation and to calm her husband, Petunia approached the overweight man, and rested her hand on the back of his shoulder.

"Now Vernon, remember to con-'' Petunia started, but was unable to finish her sentence, as she felt a hard slap across her cheek.

"Shut it Petunia, I've had it with you going behind my back, and showing this, _freak, _any kind of affection!" Vernon spat, shocking both Petunia and Harry that he was aware of their secret. "Did you really think I wasn't aware that you were showing this freak nephew of ours affection and love? That I didn't become suspicious after he got his letter for that freak school of his?"

Inwardly, Petunia breathed a sigh of relief that Vernon was suspicious for only the past two years, rather than the entire time that Harry was living with them, but it was still unsettling that he had become aware that she had been breaking their arrangement.

Harry honestly couldn't figure out which was worst, that Uncle Vernon had actually used that small brain of his to suspect that Aunt Petunia and he actually have a good relationship with each other, or that for the first time in the years that he had lived here at Number 4, that he actually hit her. The black haired boy just couldn't believe that he actually hit his _aunt_! He watched as Aunt Petunia fell to the ground after she had been stuck, her hand going straight to her cheek, which was turning red from where Vernon had struck her. He was gripped the wrist of Uncle Vernon's hand that was still wrapped around his throat, and he could almost swear that the grip was growing tighter, as he was having a slight difficulty breathing. Through his bond with Ginny, Harry could tell that she was starting to feel what he was experiencing; he could feel her hand going to her throat, as if she was in his place, being choked by Vernon, instead of Harry. Through her eyes, and as if Harry was there, in her place, he heard her tell Arthur, Molly, and her brothers what was going on, which in turn resulted in the three eldest Weasley boys to try and break the door down, which in turn seemed to make Vernon even angrier.

"_**WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE OUTSIDE?!" **_Uncle Vernon yelled into Harry's face, his face becoming more and purpler by the moment. "Why are they trying to break down my door?" In spite of Vernon's grip on his throat, Harry still managed to work around it so that he could speak out.

"They're called the Weasleys, and the four boys and the girl are friends of mine from my school, and the two adults were friends of my parents." Harry said to him, feeling the grip on his throat slightly loosening, but still tight.

He watched as Vernon's face pale just slightly, as he realize that the Weasleys were capable of magic, like Harry was.

"Do you mean to tell me that those, _people_ out there, are _freaks,_ like you?" he asked Harry, in a slight quivering voice.

Harry had to admit, hearing Uncle Vernon call Ginny, Ron, and his entire family in law, but especially Ginny, as freaks did not sit well with him. Harry could handle Vernon Dursley calling him a freak, considering that he had to live with Vernon calling him that ever since he was left on Aunt Petunia's doorstep his whole life. But for Vernon to call Ginny, the girl that he loved, the girl that he shared a Soul Bond with, a freak, was for Harry, something that he would not accept.

"Don't, and I mean, don't ever call them _freaks, _again!"

Petunia couldn't believe what Harry had done! In the years that he had lived in 4 Privet Drive, he had never once spoken back to Vernon like that.

'_The family outside must have been very special to him in order for him to suddenly speak out against Vernon like that._' Petunia thought to herself.

Petunia quickly looked at Vernon's face, and she could tell that he was shaken by Harry's tenacity, and that he didn't like it. Vernon liked to feel as though he was in control of Harry's life, but when Harry began going to Hogwarts part of his control over her nephew had diminished, but he still tried to find other ways to keep Harry under his thumb, though he had several moments of difficulty in doing so. But this was the first absolute time that Harry actually resisted against him.

Petunia was still laying on the floor, as she watched Vernon bring a hand across Harry's face, in retaliation for his words. She glanced at the door which, the redhead family were still banging against, had its deadbolt locks engaged. As Vernon continued to hit Harry, Petunia found herself in a moment where she needed to make a decision. Does she decide to finally submit to Vernon, and accept his prejudice of those that he deemed as freaks, and turn her back on Harry, just as she did to her sister Lily, all those years ago? Or does she follow Harry's example and stand up to Vernon, leave him and take Dudley with her, and finally raise Harry properly, without having to hide her true feelings of care and love for him? Petunia looked back and forth from Vernon and Harry, and the door, trying to make up her mind, and finally she made a decision.

Getting up from the floor, Petunia quickly undid the locks on the door, and flew it open, allowing the family of redheads into the house. She watched as who she assumed was the family patriarch and his three eldest sons pulled Vernon off of Harry, while the woman that Petunia guessed was the family matriarch, the youngest son, and the single girl that Harry held hands with outside quickly pulled Harry into their fold. Petunia watched with great interest as the girl wrapped her arms around her nephew, and she saw the distinct tear tracts on her face, as she, to Petunia's great surprise, kissed him. Granted Petunia figured that one day Harry would find someone to call as his special someone someday, and that he would no doubt engage in kissing her, but she never thought that he would start doing it when he was still at least twelve, going on thirteen, years old. But once again, seeing him like this with this girl reminded her of his parents, which brought a rueful smile to her face, as she couldn't help but feel a sudden change in the air, as Petunia felt a greater air of confidence from Harry.

"_**GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!**_" Petunia looked over at her husband, a look of extreme anger on her face, as she watched him try to get free of the combined grip of three near adults, and a full grown man that held him back. "_**YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO INTERFERE WITH MATTERS INVOLVING MY FAMILY!**_''

"That's a laugh coming from you Vernon!" Petunia spat, her anger at the man that she had foolishly married all those years ago rising even more.

Petunia wasn't sure who was more surprised by her actions, Harry, Dudley, who had finally returned home from the park, or Vernon. But in that moment, Petunia didn't care, because there was no way that she was going to allow Vernon to tear her family apart again. She was determined not to lose her nephew, whether to Vernon, or to the monster that killed her sister and brother-in-law, should he ever come back which she doubted; Petunia would even claw her way back from hell if she had to, but she was not going to lose Harry to Vernon.

"P-Petunia?" Vernon stuttered, shocked and surprised by what his wife had just said to him.

"You never once regarded Harry as part of our family!" Petunia spat at him, refusing to back down. "You've beaten him, kicked him, abused him, downgraded him, locked him away in a cupboard underneath the stairs, and tried to pretend that he wasn't even here! But I didn't, I viewed Harry as a part of my family, and so did Dudley! I was a fool for not trying to mend my relationship with Lily, and an even bigger fool for allowing your prejudice against her and anyone who was also a part of the wizard community that she was a part of influence me further, just because she wasn't, in your definition, "normal"!''

Petunia took great pride in Vernon's shocked face, as he was stuttering, trying to think of something to say.

"I don't regret having Dudley, not for one second, but I do regret marrying you Vernon!" Petunia continued, determined not to allow her newfound confidence falter. "I don't understand what I ever saw in you, but I refuse to continue being married to you!'

Petunia brought her left hand up, and quickly pulled the wedding ring that she wore on her ring finger off, and threw it at Vernon. She watched with great satisfaction as the ring hit Vernon square in the eye, the diamond cutting into his eyebrow.

"I am going to call for a lawyer, and file for a divorce from you Vernon, and I will make sure that you will get no custody of any kind of Dudley!" Petunia continued, and smiled gleefully as she saw the smiles growing on both Harry and Dudley's faces. "And I will also make sure to fill out a restraining order to ensure that you are never able to come anywhere close to me, Dudley, or Harry! Now gentlemen, if you'll please, toss my ex-husband out the door!"

Harry and Ginny stepped out of the way quickly, as Arthur, Percy, and Fred and George pulled Vernon Dursley to the door, and threw him out. Harry, Ron, Dudley, and Ginny even laughed out loud as Arthur Weasley literally kicked the overweight man in the bum, forcing him to fall flat on his face as he flew out the door, only to look back in time to see Petunia Dursley close the door in _his face_ this time, and locked it so that he couldn't get back in. Ginny guess he must've finally regained his voice after that because he started pounding the door, shouting things that she dared not repeat lest she risked her mother's wrath. He demanded that Petunia let him back into the house, but she doubted that Harry's aunt was going to do just that. In fact, she even walked over to what harry explained was a phone, and called for the constables.

_**(A/N: I have received several comments that police officers in England are referred to as "Bobbies", however given the suburban setting that privet drive is set in, I think constable is a bit more accurate. And while I'm not 100% certain, I think I have heard that constable is a type of police officer in England.)**_

Vernon was still pounding the door, when the constables arrived, and cuffed him, taking him away. In that time, Harry explained to Ginny's father how a phone worked, and how to use it, all to which he listened in a fascinated manner. And to her surprised, once Petunia was finished giving her statement to the constables, she and Ginny's mother were even getting along quite well, now that Molly Weasley knew that Petunia didn't really hate Harry. Even Ginny liked her, once she had a chance to really get to know her. Most of the time though, Ginny mostly stayed by Harry's side, hugging him with her arms wrapped around him. Ginny did of course noticed that Petunia was watching them, almost as if she was intrigued and curious by Harry and Ginny's interactions, and she finally started walking to the young couple. In that moment, Ginny realized that she and Harry didn't tell her about their bond yet.

_'Well this is going to be awkward I guess.' _Ginny thought to herself, though not quite well apparently as Harry no doubt heard her thought.

_'You're telling me Gin, I haven't exactly figured out how to tell my aunt that she now has an eleven going on twelve year old niece-in-law.'_ Harry replied to her, his nervousness seeping through their bond.

_'Don't worry Harry, we'll tell her together.'_ Ginny said to him, giving Harry as much confidence as she could. '_Just remember that you're not alone. Not anymore.'_

Harry looked at Ginny with a smile on his face, truly grateful that he had her, and planted a kiss on Ginny's lips, before Petunia cleared her throat, catching their attention.

"Not that I find this fairly adorable, but could either of you please explain what exactly is going on?" Petunia asked the two, out of genuine curiosity and politeness.

Harry and Ginny again looked at each other, and then back to Petunia. Come to think of it, since she was Harry's aunt, and due to Harry referring Ginny as her niece-in-law, does that mean that Ginny should call her "Aunt Petunia" now or something? Ginny guess she'll have to ask her that after they were done talking to her.

"Aunt Petunia, there's something that I need to talk to you about, and I think it might be best if we take a seat." Harry said to Petunia, gesturing to the sofas in the living room. "What I'm about to tell you, might come to be a shock for you."

As Petunia walked over to the sofas in the living room, she couldn't help but wonder what Harry had meant by that last comment. She couldn't help but feel worried about something that might not have been bad or serious at all, but she was still worried nonetheless. As Petunia took her seat, Dudley sat next to her, curious as to what Harry had to say as well, while Harry, and the girl that he was always standing with sat on the opposite sofa. The girl's family also either took the remaining chairs, or simply stood. In that moment, she realized that other than Molly, Petunia hadn't had a chance to learn the names of the other individuals, and the girl especially.

"Before Harry tells me whatever is on his mind, I'd like to learn all of your names first." Petunia said to the family of redheads, looking straight at the girl, who almost seemed to be a copy of Lily, except for her eyes. "And I'd like to start with you dear. What might your name be?"

Petunia noticed that she seemed to almost hesitate, and looked at Harry, as if she was, nonverbally asking him on how to answer her question. Finally she looked back at Petunia, but she still seemed hesitant about something.

"Umm, my name is Ginevra Molly Weasley, but you can call me Ginny." She answered, but a bit uneasy, which made Petunia even more curious. "I don't really like being called Ginevra, so I usually go by Ginny."

"Understood dear, and don't worry, I'll be sure to remember that in the future." She replied, looking up at Molly's husband, who if she recalled, seemed to hang on Harry's every word as he explained how the telephone worked, almost as if he never seen, or even used one before. "And you sir?"

"Arthur Weasley ma'am, and may I say it's a pleasure to meet you and be in your house." He answered, to which Petunia noticed Molly rolled her eyes.

"You'll have to forgive Arthur Petunia, he has a fascination for anything that is Muggle related." She said, which only made a chuckle escape from Petunia.

Petunia remembered from her childhood that whenever Lily and Severus Snape got together, she would always try to listen in to how Snape would explain the wizarding world, and that anyone who didn't have magic were often referred to as "Muggles''.

"It's quite alright Molly." Petunia said, as she shifted her focus to who she assumed as Molly and Arthur's eldest son. "And who might you be young man?"

"Percy Weasley Mrs. Dursley." He answered, and then cringed as he remembered what had happened only an hour ago. "Oops, sorry, I mean Ms. Evans I suppose."

"It's quite alright, I've been going by "Mrs. Dursley'' so long now, it's going to take some time to get used to being called Ms. Evans again.'' Petunia said, waving her hand to let him know that his mistake was forgiven.

After that, the next two boys stepped up.

"And I'm Fred ..." one said.

"And I'm George ..." the other answered.

"And together, we're the Weasley Twins!" They said together, causing Harry, Ginny, and the final Weasley boy that Petunia haven't had a chance to meet laugh.

Even Petunia couldn't help but join in the laughter, along with Dudley and Arthur. Percy seemed like he was trying to hold his laughter back, while Molly simply shook her head. We all laughed for about twenty minutes until Petunia was finally able to calm down, and looked at the final redhead boy who looked to be the same age as Harry.

"And who might you be?"

"Ron Weasley." He said, with what Petunia detected to be an air of pride, as he reached out and shook her hand. "And I'm Harry's best friend."

"One, of my best friends Ron!" Harry said, contradicting Ron. "Don't forget about Hermione''

"Oh, right." Ron said sheepishly, a red blush coming to his face.

"Well then, now that I know your names, my name is Petunia Evans.'' Petunia said, introducing herself to the people that she just met. "And this is my son, Dudley Dursley, and the unfortunate brute that he's had to call his father was my now ex-husband Vernon Dursley, though I will have to get in touch with a lawyer to make sure that it is official.''

"Don't worry Aunt Petunia, considering what you just told the constables, I'm sure the court system will allow you to file an official divorce from Uncle Vernon." Harry stated, and Petunia wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"Right, now then with that out of the way, now we can get down to business.'' Petunia said, getting back to what she wanted to know. "As sweet as it is to see that you seem to have found someone Harry, I want to know why exactly you two are ... well, sharing kisses with each other when technically you're still twelve and ... how old are you dear?''

"Eleven going on twelve come August 11 Ms. Petunia." Ginny replied.

"Just Petunia will do dear," Petunia answered, smiling at her politeness. "So can you please tell me exactly when this relationship between you two happened?"

Once again, it seemed as if Harry and Ginny, along with Ginny's entire family, hesitated. It was as if they were nervous to tell her something, which honestly is the first time that Harry seemed hesitant to tell Petunia something. Harry had always told her everything over the years, it was the reason that he and Petunia had such a good relationship as aunt and nephew, even if they had to keep it a secret, though thankfully now they wouldn't have to now that Vernon would be out of the picture. Still, it troubled Petunia that Harry was nervous about telling her something, even if it was something as innocent as a little relationship.

"Umm, Aunt Petunia, this is going to be a bit of a shock to you, but Ginny and I ...'' Harry began, but once again hesitated. "We're actually married now.''

Petunia completely shook her head at that, shocked at what Harry had just told her. Then she watched as Harry took his wand, and waved it over his and Ginny's hands, and there in front of her, on the ring fingers of their right hands, were a pair of wedding rings. That in total, took Petunia completely by surprised.

_'I have a niece-in-law now? At only twelve for Harry and eleven for Ginny?'_ Petunia's mind thought, completely shocked at what she was learning. '_And here I thought I couldn't be any more surprised at my late sister's world, but once again I was wrong.'_

"Surprise?" Harry said, his voice obviously nervous.

Petunia couldn't even say a single word, she was still processing that her nephew was now married. In the end, Petunia's vision completely blacked out, and she fainted on the sofa.

_**A/N: And here's where I'll leave off. Well this was quite a surprise for Petunia wouldn't you say? What do you think so far? How do think that she'll respond when she learns of the Soul Bond that Harry and Ginny have and will she accept her new niece-in-law?**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_


	10. Changes part 2

_**Real quick I would like to apologize to my readers for the abrupt post and then deletion of this chapter earlier, but the reason for this was because I was having some sort of problem, and I decided to delete the chapter, and plan on reposting the chapter again later. I also had a similar issue with my Harry and Daphne story, and hopefully whatever issues I was having earlier is no longer prevalent.**_

Well, this wasn't exactly what Harry and Ginny expected, but Ginny did thought that Petunia took the news that she had learned rather well. Minus the fainting spell from learning that she now has an eleven, almost twelve year old niece-in-law. After all, Harry and Ginny expected that Petunia would probably be surprised to learn that Harry and Ginny were technically married, but she honestly didn't expect her now aunt-in-law to faint. Dudley, Harry, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny were now trying to figure out how to get her to wake up, while Mr. Weasley and Percy were reprimanding Fred and George for snickering, and Ron was just standing around doing nothing, with a pale face, as if he never saw someone faint before. Honestly, how thick could he be?

Still, it was slightly better than how Molly Weasley took the news, though looking back at it, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley seemed quite surprised that Ginny was Soul Bonded with Harry, but after awhile, they accepted it; Ginny guessed it must've been because they already accepted Harry as apart of their family, and the fact that he saved her life in the Chamber of Secrets. As for Ron, Fred, and George, they seemed to be extremely happy that he was now officially apart of the family, though for some reason, Percy seemed disintrigued by Harry and Ginny's new bond, almost as if he didn't approve of his little sister being with Harry. Ginny made a mental note to talk to her Mum and Dad about that.

"Harry, do you or your cousin Dudley know if your aunt has any smelling salt in the house?" Mrs. Weasley asked Harry, snapping Ginny out of her line of thought.

Ginny looked at Harry and Dudley, noting the way that they were looking at each other. And then Harry answered her mother's question.

"No Mrs. Weasley, as far as I know, Aunt Petunia never kept any smelling salts in the house." He answered honestly, looking concerned.

"Harry's right, Mum doesn't have any smelling salts." Dudley said, backing up Harry. "Dad never really believed in using that kind of stuff, so he forbade the use of smelling salts, just like how he tried to forbade Harry from being himself."

Mrs. Weasley didn't like having to hear how the man that was taken by the Muggle Aurors, or constables, as Petunia called them, treated the boy who had become apart of her family, in more ways than one. As it was, she was disappointed in how he denied such simple items that could be useful, such as smelling salts. Since she was aware that Petunia's son knew about magic, she pulled her wand out of her pocket, and conjured a smelling salt, and carefully waved the salt back and forth near Petunia's nose, allowing the scent to go up into her nostrils, which in the end worked to wake her up. Petunia bolted right back up when she smelled the smelling salts that was placed under her nose, but at least she was awake again. She shook her head to clear the smell out of her sinuses.

Once her sinuses were clear, she looked up into the emerald green eyes of her nephew, the same eyes that once belonged to her sister. She was having a problem understanding what she had just learned from her nephew. Did she even heard him correctly in saying that he was now, married? He's twelve going on thirteen! He shouldn't be married now, unless he was trying to pull a joke on her or something. She always wondered if his father's tendency to tell somewhat bad jokes would pop at some point in Harry.

"Alright Harry, that's not a very funny joke," She said, hoping that's what it was. "I must admit, it was not a very good idea of a joke."

Harry, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley all looked at each other uneasily, uncomfortable with how they were going to have to convince Petunia that Harry wasn't joking.

"Um, Aunt Petunia, I'm not joking." He said to her, trying to choose his words carefully as he watched his aunt's face turn from a frown, to a confused and concerned look. "Ginny and I really are married, through a special magical bond that is extremely rare and ..."

Harry was unable to finish his sentence, as an eagle owl flew into the house through an open window, dropped a letter, and left. Percy, being closer to the letter, picked it up and looked at it. To Harry's concern, he noticed that Percy had a look of disdain; Harry decided that he would have to say something about that to Molly and Arthur later. He knew that through his Bond with Ginny, she had a similar observation about Percy's behavior. Percy handed the letter to Harry, all while possessing a look of contempt on his face; After Harry took the letter from Percy, he looked at it, seeing who it was from.

"Who's it from Harry?" Aunt Petunia asked, curious about the letter.

"It's from Gringotts, the wizard bank." Harry answered, watching as his aunts face relaxed. "I wonder what they sent though."

"Why don't you open it dear, and we'll find out?" Molly said gently, placing her hand on Harry's left shoulder, while Ginny placed hers on his right.

Harry looked back at the letter, and took a tentative breath. Proceeding to break the Gringotts seal, and the envelope morphed into a letter, with a sheet of parchment falling loose. Ginny picked up the parchment, and held it in a way that both she and Petunia could look at it together, while Harry read the letter.

_Dear Mr and Mrs HJ Potter,_

_Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley, London England branch would like to formally congratulate you on your Soul Bond, and your marriage. We would like to inform you that in accordance to Ancient Magical by-laws 615, set in 16 BC, any and all participants, regardless of age, in a Soul Bond marriage are recognized as legally married and adults in the eyes of Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic. (There will be a quick note at the end of this letter to warn you and your Bond-mate of any individuals who may try to argue with this by-law, and that you and your Bond-mate are not properly represented.) Moving on, included with this letter, is a certificate showing that the two of you are hereby legalized adults, and married as by the stipulations of your Soul Bond._

_Note: As Mentioned before, there will be several individuals within the Ministry of Magic who will try to argue against your Bond, and revoke the law, despite the fact that there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. These individuals include, but are not limited to, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, Senior Undersecretary Delores Umbridge, Lucius Malfoy, and any Wizard or Witch within the Ministry of Magic, and/or the Wizengamot who will view your Bond as a threat to their plans. As such, we at Gringotts advise that you tread lightly with these individuals, and especially Delores Umbridge, as she is known to view this particular law as rubbish, and has been recorded to have repeatedly attempted to have this law removed and disposed of._

_We also advise you to get in contact with Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, as he is a well known supporter of the law that you and your Bond-Mate are now represented under. Other well known supporters of by-law 615 are Cyrus Greengrass, Alan Davis, Belladonna Zabini, Amelia Bones, Augusta Longbottom, and several others._

_Signed, Ragnok, Chief Manager of Gringotts, Member of the High Goblin Council._

_Co-Signed, Rockroof, Head Goblin of Gringotts._

Harry reread the letter at least two additional times, in order for the information to sink in, and handed it to Arthur, Molly, and Petunia, who was finished looking at the Magical Marriage Certificate for Harry and Ginny. He then looked at the certificate, smiling at how it labeled Ginny as _Ginevra Molly Potter_, making their union official.

"_What did Aunt Petunia think when she read the certificate?_" Harry asked Ginny, using their mental speak, as they came to call it, as the adults read the letter.

"_She was a bit shaken up about it, but then she took and embraced me the in a hug,_" Ginny answered, resting her head on Harry's shoulder. "_And told me that although it's still a bit of a shock to her, she is more than happy to welcome me as part of her family._"

Harry smiled at what Ginny told him in regards to his aunt. Harry knew that although Aunt Petunia could sometimes come to be viewed as a crass and hard individual, she was in truth a kind and caring person. He figured that the reason his aunt had to appear as crass had to have been due to his now former uncle's influence, but now that Vernon Dursley was gone, Aunt Petunia could be openly free to show her true colors. He looked at his aunt, and watched as she read the letter with Arthur and Molly, then proceeded to sit back down with a shaky breath.

"So, you two actually are married?" She asked, looking at the two preteens.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, and then back at Petunia.

"Yes Aunt Petunia, due to a special magical bond that we now share." Harry replies, trying to make sure to explain carefully to his aunt.

Harry and Ginny then went on to explain to Petunia about what had occurred in Diagon Alley, meeting Griphook at Gringotts, learning about their Soul Bond, James and Lily's Will, and Harry's heritage. To say that Petunia was shocked by what she was learning, would've been an understatement. She grew up with a witch sister, and took in her wizard nephew, and yet she still found herself in awe and surprise from the Magic world. Nevertheless, she could easily tell that Harry and Ginny were very happy together, and she wasn't going to deny him of his happiness. As long as Harry was happy, she was happy.

"Well, as surprised as I am by all of this, I have to admit that it is a pleasure to meet you Ginny." She said to her new niece-in-law, giving her a smile. "And welcome to the family."

Petunia watched as the two young couple smiled back at her, pleased that she was accepting their new relationship. Harry in particular, was extremely happy that his aunt was accepting his new, though admittedly, unorthodox relationship with Ginny. When Vernon was in the picture, Petunia had to do whatever it took to ensure that Harry had a good time with her and Dudley, in spite of her bloated soon-to-be ex-husband; not to mention that she had to pretend to hate her beloved nephew, when in truth she cared, and loved him as if he was a second son to her.

"Now, is there anything else that I need to know about this Soul Bond," She preceded to ask. "Just so that I'm not surprised?"

At this point, Harry and Ginny's expansions quickly changed from happy, to concern. The two shared a look into each other's eyes, and nodded. They proceeded to inform Petunia of everything that they were told about, in regards to their Bond. As Petunia listened to what her nephew and niece-in-law told her, she found herself more and more intrigued by her nephews life in the Magic World.

"So essentially," She said, as she began to understand what she had been told. "You two are recognized as adults, and can use magic outside of school, and by wizarding law, you're married to each other?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, knowing that they haven't told her the biggest thing about their Bond, but they wanted to let her know about the more easier stuff first. They figured that giving her the easy information first, telling her the one hard part of the Bond would be easier. Unfortunately, it wasn't. In spite of the easy information that they gave her, the fact that they had to inform her that they would have to be with each other for twenty-four hours or else they died; so yeah, not a pleasant thing to tell to the woman who was forced to pretend to hate her only nephew, when in truth she truly cared and loved him as she rightfully should.

"Well Aunt Petunia, there is one thing that Ginny and I have yet to tell you." Harry answered, hesitant to inform her about n the possibility of death for the both of them.

Petunia easily noticed the hesitancy in her nephew, and began to feel concerned. She knew that she would have to accept that there were going to be some things in the Magic world that she would never understand, like this Soul Bond that Harry shared with Ginny, but she would be willing to accept it nonetheless. Along with her son Dudley, Harry was the most important person in Petunia's life, as he was the only family she had left from her sister Lily.

"Harry, if there's something that you and Ginny are concerned about sharing with me," She stated, wanting to ease her nephew and niece-in-laws predicament. "I promise you that I will take it easy. You don't have to be afraid."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, and took in an unsteady breath. The two then looked back at her, and Harry looked into his aunts eyes. Petunia watched as her nephew began to open his mouth to talk, when Percy Weasley exclaimed loudly.

"Oh for bloody sakes just say it!" He yelled, shocking everyone in the room. "Harry and Ginny need to be together for about twenty-four hours, or else their soul bond will kill them."

To say that Percy's outburst was a shock and a surprise to everyone in the room, was an understatement. Arthur and Molly looked at each other in concern, as Percy's tone was intense. George and Fred were surprised that Percy yelled at the fact Harry and Ginny were bonded together. As for Ron and Dudley, they felt extremely uncomfortable as Ron's third older brother was showing extreme agitation against Harry and Ginny's Bond. Petunia however, was shocked by the information that Percy yelled out; she then looked at her nephew and apparent niece-in-law, both of whom have their heads bent down.

"Harry, Ginny, is this true?" She asked tentatively. "Do you really need to stay together for twenty-four hours, otherwise you'll both die?"

Harry and Ginny hesitated as they looked at each other, and then back at Petunia. They knew that this was a critical moment for their relationship in regards to Harry's aunt. In many ways Harry had his aunt to thank for a lot of things in his life; she was the one who convinced Vernon to let him stay in the house, and did her best to protect him from his abusive uncle to the best of her abilities. She secretly told him stories about the magic world that he would rejoin when he turned eleven, and did her best to help him get his Hogwarts letter, despite his uncle managing to prevent it until Hagrid showed up. Harry's relationship with his aunt was one forged in a difficult environment, but he was truly thankful for her caring heart.

Petunia cared deeply for her nephew, just as much as she did for her own son, whom she had carefully instructed to look out for his cousin, in spite of his father's instructions to beat Harry. She was willing to admit that the way she treated her own sister when they were younger was unacceptable; so when Harry was left on her porch step, and she read Dumbledore's letter, she had broken down and lamented the fact that she would never be able to apologize to Lily for her actions, and vowed to redeem herself by taking care of Harry. Unfortunately Vernon made that difficult right off the bat, but she did what she could to help her precious nephew, and the help she received from Dudley made it even more worthwhile.

So when Harry revealed that he had a special bond with Ginny, she was willing to let him have it, as she easily saw the look of genuine love in his eyes for her. In many ways, she couldn't help but see Lily in Ginny, and inwardly laughed at the similarities between her nephew and Ginny, to her late sister and brother-in-law. But when Percy mentioned that they had to be together for twenty-four hours or die, that got her worried. Petunia had vowed that she would protect Harry, and while she couldn't do anything to protect him magically, she was not going to lose another member of her family again.

"Harry, please tell me the truth," she gently said to her nephew, reaching over to place her hand on his knee. "I just want to understand what Percy is saying."

Harry sighed heavily, and with help from Ginny, began to explain to Petunia about how the Bond worked to settle in. Petunia and Dudley sat in their seats, listening to Harry and Ginny. The rest of the Weasley's, with the exception of Percy who stood by the sitting room door, stood around the two young Bonded preteens, giving support. Soon Harry and Ginny finished their explanation, and Petunia sat back, her face pale and her hands gripping together tightly. Dudley simply watched his mother, worried about how she would react.

He knew that his mother valued Harry just as much as she valued him, but Dudley knew and understood that Harry meant something more. He was, from a certain point of view, the only thing she had left of her sister, Dudley's late aunt. So it was obvious to Dudley that his mother would value his cousin more than him, and he honestly had no problem with that. Despite his father's attempts, Dudley valued his cousin, and saw him as a little brother, so he was never going to hurt Harry, as best as he could. But he had seen what his father could do when someone defied him, and had to do whatever it took to protect his family.

"So, you and Ginny need to stay in close proximity to each other," Petunia finally said, breaking the tense silence. "And constantly holding each other, skin to skin, in order for your Soul Bond to settle in? Or else the both of you could suffer some sort of, whiplash from your magic, and die?"

Harry and Ginny nodded their heads, confirming her fears. Petunia rubbed her face, taking in a shaky breath. She had always feared losing her nephew in some way, whether it was to one of Vernon's violent beatings, or to some dangerous form of magic. But she could see that the Soul Bond that Harry had with Ginny Weasley was something pure and good; the twenty-four hours thing was just some kind of acclimating deal. She was willing to accept it, if it meant that Harry was safe. She removed her hands, and looked into her nephew's emerald green eyes.

"Go pack your things, and get ready to go with the Weasleys." She said, a shaky smile on her face.

Harry looked at his aunt in shock, his eyes wide and his mouth dropping open.

"You deserve to be happy Harry," She continued, reaching out to caress his face. "If being with Ginny is the way to do that, then it's all right with me. Just please don't make me a grand aunt until you're old enough."

The joke was enough to make everyone in the room laugh, while Harry and Ginny both blushed Weasley red, heavily embarrassed. The only one who didn't laugh was Percy, who only scowled as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"I'll get to it now Aunt Petunia," Harry said, quickly rising so as to get out of the room and away from the embarrassment, pulling Ginny with him. "Come on Ginny"

The laughter only got louder as Harry pulled Ginny with him, their pace fast, and their running heard loudly on the stairs. Petunia Dursley and Molly Weasley could only watch with tears in their eyes, as their two precious youngest children were joined together in a journey of great joy.

_**A/N: Phew, finally this one was a long time coming. Been suffering from intense writers block, and scheduling issues with classes, as well as trying to work on some of my other stories. So my time is very busy. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as this one did, but I can't guarantee any promises. I hope this chapter ends well and you, my readers, are pleased with it, as you've been asking me to update it very heavily. I feel confident with the ending, especially since this is supposed to be part of a slightly alternate universe type of story. **_

_**Don't worry about Percy's attitude, it'll eventually change at some point in the future, he just has to go through a sort of jerk period. Oh, and unlike one of my other Harry Potter fan fiction stories, this will not be a Dumbledore bashing story.**_

_**HINNY FOR LIFE!**_

_**Merry Christmas!**_


	11. Changes part 3

Harry brought Ginny up to his room, and opened the door to the small bedroom. Ginny couldn't help but feel disgusted by the appearance of the room. The room was relatively small, and had a bed mattress sitting on the floor and looked as though the springs were sticking out. To her immediate right, was a wardrobe that looked as though it had one door about to fall off its hinges. There was a small desk next to the mattress that sat beneath the window; which when Ginny looked closer at it, she noticed that it had braces for bars sitting on the outside of it; undoubtedly from the previous summer where Fred, George, and Ron had to go and rescue Harry from his uncle. To the left of the room, was a dresser, on top of which rested Harry's faithful snowy owl Hedwig in her cage.

Hedwig watched the two young children with interest, but showed absolutely no animosity to the presence of Ginny. Ginny watched as Harry walked over to Hedwig's cage, and then opened the door, allowing the white bird out. As soon as she was allowed out, Hedwig flew over to Ginny, and landed on the redhead's shoulder. Ginny turned her head to look into the amber eyes of the snowy owl, and then Hedwig rubbed her head against Ginny's cheek, eliciting a giggle from the girl.

"Looks like Hedwig likes you Ginny," Harry said, as he walked over to the girl that had been the subject of a secret little crush of his. "And if there's one thing I know about Hedwig, it's that she's a good judge of character. Ain't that right girl?"

Hedwig hooted in response as if in affirmation, and remained on Ginny's shoulder, as she and Harry continued to pack Harry's clothes. Or rather technically, Dudley's old clothes that were given to Harry, on Vernon's orders. Perhaps with Uncle Vernon no longer in their lives, and going to jail to boot, maybe there would finally be a chance for Aunt Petunia to take Harry out to buy some clothes that would actually fit him.

"I'm sure that your aunt will get you some proper fitting clothes Harry." Ginny said to him, making Harry look at her with an inquisitive look on his face, causing Ginny to giggle at him. "Remember Harry, we share each other's thoughts and memories. That's how I knew what you were thinking."

Harry couldn't help but blush in embarrassment as Ginny said that.

"Oh yeah, right." He replied sheepishly.

Ginny couldn't help but roll her eyes, before leaning towards Harry, and kiss him on his cheek, feeling the heat from his blush on her lips. As Ginny pulled away to continue to help pack, Harry placed his hand on his cheek where Ginny kissed him, hoping to savor the feeling of her lips on it. Eventually they finished packing, and with Harry's belongings in hand, and Hedwig perched on Ginny's shoulder, the Bonded couple walked downstairs. As they reached the living room, they found their respective families still in their spots as they left them.

"Ah Harry , Ginny, I'm glad that you two came down." Petunia said, getting up from her place on the sofa.

"Aunt Petunia, is something wrong?" Harry asked his aunt, concerned that there was something the matter.

"Oh no Harry, nothings wrong." She answered, placing a caring hand on Harry's cheek. "I just wanted to let you know that I've agreed to let you go to the Weasley's home, to further bond with Ginny. Though I do hope that you'll come home when the Bond is settled in, or at least come back to visit often."

Harry couldn't help but smile at Ginny, as he understood where Aunt Petunia was coming from. He had grown up under her caring arm, she had shown him the care and love that he had no doubt that his own mother would've given him; she had treated him as if he was a second son, and raised him in the same way that she raised Dudley. With love, tenderness, and all the care that only a mother could give to a child, while also making sure that he would grow up to be a kind and generous man one day. As eager ass Harry was to form a new family with Ginny, he didn't want to abandon his aunt and cousin, especially now that they had achieved their freedom from Vernon Dursley.

As the thoughts that were raging in Harry's mind went on, there was a sudden knock on the door. curious as to who was at the door, Harry quickly got up, and went to the door. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see who was on the other side: Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, dressed in a sky blue muggle suit, with a matching fedora hat. Seeing their headmaster standing in such an outfit in the doorway of Harry's aunt house, was quite a surprising sight for the soon-to-be thirteen year old to see.

"Hello Harry, how are you doing?" Dumbledore asked Harry, a smile gracing his face, and his trademark grandfatherly twinkle in his eye.

Harry shook his head out of the shock that he was in, and led the Headmaster into the house. Once Dumbledore was in the house, Harry closed the door, and turned to him. Although it was still a shock to see Dumbledore in his home, dressed the way he was, Harry remembered his manners, and stepped towards his headmaster.

"Would you like like to hang up your hat sir?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the hat rack next to the door.

"Why thank you Harry, that is most appreciated." Dumbledore replied, a smile on his face, as he handed his fedora over to Harry.

After hanging Dumbledore's hat up, Harry led him into the living room, where everyone else were gathered. As Harry and Dumbledore walked in, everyone looked at the aged headmaster in shock and surprise, though Petunia and Dudley were the most shocked, as it was the first time the two had ever seen Dumbledore in person. When Harry sat down next to Ginny, Dumbledore looked at the two with a kind smile, and the usual twinkle in his grandfatherly eyes seemed almost intensified than normal, or at least whatever passed as normal for Albus Dumbledore.

"First of all, I wish to say congratulations on your Soul Bond Harry and Ginny," Dumbledore started, the smile on his face prominent. "I've actually been wondering how long it would be, until you finally activated it."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other in shock, before turning back to Dumbledore. Even the other occupants in the room were shocked by Dumbledore's revelation, that he was aware of the Soul Bond. Hoping to get an answer, Harry scooted himself to the edge of the couch, he looked into the twinkling blue eyes of Dumbledore.

"What do you mean Professor?" He asked, as he felt Ginny sitting on the edge as well.

"Did you know about the Bond between us sir?" She asked, taking ahold of Harry's hand. "And why didn't you tell us about it?"

Dumbledore smiled gently, as he folded his hands.

"To answer your questions," He said, looking at the two pre-teens with his usual grandfatherly gaze. "Yes, I did know about your Soul Bond, and I didn't tell you about it because I wanted the two of you to discover it on your own."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other in confusion, and it was clear that their respective family members were also confused. Dumbledore looked around the room and clearly saw the confusion that was present in the room, and decided to clear it up.

"Allow me to explain," He began, his voice taking on the usual instructing tone whenever one of the professors at Hogwarts were teaching something. "Harry, do you remember when you rescued Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets this recent school year?"

Harry couldn't help but blush at the memory of how he managed to rescue Ginny, while Ginny herself just looked at him with an embarrassed smile on her face. As for the others in the room, it was a bit of a mixed reaction. Ron shifted uncomfortably as he remembered his best mate rescuing his baby sister, Fred and George and Dudley snickered, Molly and Arthur smiled while Percy scowled, and Petunia just looked at her nephew with an amused look on her face.

"So this is the girl that you helped rescue." She said, shaking her head as she tired, but failed, to resist chuckling as she looked at Ginny. "Harry's been talking about you every chance he had, and I do have to admit, I can finally see why."

Now it was Ginny's turn to blush out of embarrassment, as Harry smiled at her, and her family chuckled at her. Even Dumbledore was chuckling at the amusing scene before him.

"Yes, well, to continue, while you were both unaware of it, the events in the Chamber created a strong magical bond between the two of you," Dumbledore said, regaining control of the conversation. "A bond of which, as I am sure that you learned from the goblins, that has not been seen for a very long time: a Soul Bond. Now Soul Bonds give off a very powerful magical aura, one that a very well trained wizard or witch can easily sense; therefore, when the two of you were in my presence after you came out of the Chamber, I detected the Bond that had at that point, now took place between you two, merely waiting to be completed.

"I was actually quite surprised that a Soul Bond had been formed between two of my own students, much less two who were so young," He continued, his smile still gracing his face. "Nevertheless, after sensing the Bond, I began hoping that you would complete the Bond, and alas, you have. This Soul Bond that the two of you share, is a special gift, and one that will undoubtedly benefit you both at some point in your future."

After Dumbledore said that, Harry and Ginny looked at each other with pride about their Bond in their eyes. Knowing how their Bond had been forged was a relief, but it also made a lot of sense that their Bond had been created as a result of the events in the Chamber of Secrets. They did of course, remember the special powers and abilities that the goblins told them that they would be given by the Bond. The two preteens told Dumbledore about these abilities, and watched him carefully, hoping to hear an explanation to what they could also do, in regards to the Bond, as well as possibly any other abilities they could do.

The aged headmaster stroked his long white beard, looking thoughtful about what he was going to say. Finally, electric blue eyes looked back up into emerald green and chocolate brown eyes, preparing to give an answer.

"The abilities that you were told of by the goblins are only the few known abilities of a Soul Bond," He said, sadly watching as Harry and Ginny's shoulders slumped down in dejection. "Alas, any other abilities, are unknown, even to me. I suspect that this may be due to a few factors. There was at one point, an entire record of abilities that Soul Bonded couples were able to do written down in a book, which had been kept safe in the Ministry of Magic, but sadly, a fire broke out in the Ministry nearly 10 decades ago, and the book was unfortunately lost in the fire. Furthermore, Soul Bonds were more common in the time period that Muggles refer to as the Medieval period, but as the years began to go by, Soul Bonds began to decrease in numbers, and any couple that did forge such a Bond, began preferring to keep the majority of their abilities to themselves.

"It may very well be possible that you will unlock other abilities," Dumbledore continued. "But it will be up to the two of you to decide whether or not tell others what these abilities are, or not."

Harry and Ginny nodded their heads, understanding what they were being told by their headmaster. In many ways, if they did unlock other abilities that was given to them by the Bond, they would more than likely want to keep it to themselves, and not risk others learn of them.

"Well, I just wanted to come by to wish you two congratulations on your Soul Bond." Dumbledore said, getting up and using his magic to summon his fedora hat. "Oh, and before I forget, I have taken the liberty of setting up one of the old betrothal bedrooms at Hogwarts for you, and once you are sixteen/fifteen respectively, you will be moved into one of the couples rooms, which have not been used in a very long time."

Harry and Ginny looked confused at this, though it clearly must've been a big thing, as Aunt Petunia, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron began speaking loudly. In the end, it was Aunt Petunia that was able to speak up and question Dumbledore.

"D you mean to say that you are going to let Harry and Ginny to share a room together at Hogwarts?" Aunt Petunia ask incredulously, not quite believing that this old man was actually putting two young preteens together in the same room. "With all due respect mister Dumbledore, but my nephew is eventually going to grow up into a hormonal teenage boy, and Ginny will grow up into an hormonal teenage girl!"

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley vocally agreed with Petunia, as did Ginny's older brothers, but nevertheless, Dumbledore stood his ground.

"I understand your concerns, bit do not worry," Dumbledore said, ignoring the concerned faces of the adults. "The magic possessed by Hogwarts herself, will not allow Harry and Ginny to get into any... funny business. Besides, they are technically married via their Soul Bond, so it is only best if they have a room to themselves at Hogwarts. Farewell and have a nice summer."

Before Petunia and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could say anything else, Dumbledore left, with a small popping sound as he apparated away. The adults looked at where Dumbledore stood moments ago, their faces possessing a dumbstruck look on their faces. In the end, Dudley decided to break the awkward silence, by looking towards Harry and Ginny.

"So, what are your guys plans for the summer?" He asked, causing the adults to shake out of their stupor.

Harry and Ginny looked at Dudley with thankful expressions, as his words broke the awkward silence that was making the two uncomfortable. Though truth be told, they weren't sure what they were going to do. Should Harry go to the Burrow and spend the summer in Egypt, or should Ginny stay at number four for the remainder of the summer. Thankfully though, it apparently turned out that the adults had a plan set up.

"I think we can answer that Dudley." Mrs. Weasley said shaking her head slightly. "Ginny will be spending the rest of the day, and the next couple of days here, and then Arthur will be coming to pick her up when it's almost time for us to go to Egypt to visit Bill, Ginny's older brother."

"Then when it's time for Harry to return to school, we'll take him to King's Cross station, where he'll meet Ginny and the Weasley's," Petunia took up, gently placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "And go off to Hogwarts."

For the next hour and a half, the Weasleys continue to converse with Petunia, Dudley, and Harry, staying long enough to share dinner together, with Molly Weasley and Petunia sharing the responsibility to cook together. soon it was time for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the Weasley boys to leave, all giving the residents of number four and Ginny a farewell hug (except for Percy, who was still against the idea of Harry and Ginny being together at their young ages). And for the rest of the day and week, Harry and Dudley showed Ginny around Privet drive, and Petunia began setting herself up to divorce from Vernon, already dropping the Dursley surname, and retaking her maiden name of Evans. Petunia would also go around Privet drive, taking her two boys and Ginny to many neighborhood get together's that Vernon would've refused to take Harry along to, telling her neighbors the truth about Harry, and how Vernon was cruel, and abusive against Harry.

Harry, Ginny, and Dudley knew that Petunia telling the neighbors about Vernon would set all of Privet drive against the large man, which would go to help in the case against Vernon. Sadly though, it was soon time for Ginny to return to the Burrow, but she would give Harry a passionate kiss, and go home with her father, but promised to write regularly to Harry, and speak with him via their mental speak, which they had been practicing throughout the week. After that, Harry, Dudley, and Petunia finally began to enjoy their summer as a family, without the influence of Vernon Dursley.

Though sadly for the family of three, the presence of the Dursley family would not stay out of their lives forever, as they would eventually receive a visit from a relative that all three of them mutually loathed, other than Vernon.

Marge Dursley.

_Sorry for taking a long time to get the second chapter posted, I've been going through a lot of stuff, as well as battling with writers block. Can't guarantee that chapters will be coming out regularly, but I do intend to keep chapters for my stories._

_In the next chapter, we will begin to follow some aspects of the Harry Potter canon, with some deviations. How will Harry be able to put up with Marge Dursley now that he has he mental connection with Ginny, to help keep him calm? What will Petunia do if her soon to be ex sister-in-law tries to badmouth the memory of Lily?_

_HINNY FOR LIFE!_


	12. The Letters, & Unexpected Arrival

"Speaking"

_"Mental Speaking"_

'_Thinking_'

_"__Parseltongue__"_

_Writing/Reading_

"_Yelling_"

Harry found himself sitting on the new bed that his aunt had bought for him while Ginny had been staying with them. He had to admit, he liked having his aunt openly and freely showing him affection and being able to get him new things now that his walrus-sized uncle was no longer in the picture. Even Dudley finally cutting off any connection to his now former friends, including his former best friend Piers Polkiss, was now able to make sure that Harry himself was left alone by those that terrorized him in their youth. Life sure was a lot better without Vernon Dursley; though admittedly, with a sad thought, the one thing that could make it a whole lot better would be if his parents were still alive.

Harry shook his head, trying to clear these depressing thoughts from his head. As he was doing so, he started feeling a presence within his head, a very familiar and pleasing one: Ginny.

"_You okay Harry?_" She asked, her concern evident over their mental link.

"_Yeah Ginny, I was thinking to myself how much better my life with Aunt Petunia and Dudley is now,_" He replied, a small smile forming on his face. "_And that it would be so much better if my parents were here._"

Harry felt Ginny sent compassionate and soothing feelings through their mental link, causing him to feel a bit calmer from her presence. Ginny, through the link from where she was, decided to try to ease his mind by slightly changing the topic. Sadly, the only way she could do that, was slightly talking about the one person who, other than his uncle, made Harry's life a miserable experience.

"_Have you had a chance to send the letters that your parents wrote to Snape?_" She asked, undoubtedly knowing the answer.

Harry hesitated to answer, as he pulled the aforementioned letters out of a drawer that he put them in. In full truth, he had absolutely no idea as to why his parents had written a pair of letters to a man that, as far as he knew, only had connections to his father. Harry always knew that Snape hated his father, so he could only guess that his father might've written the letter as an apology to Snape; but why would his mother write a letter to Snape? As far as Harry knew, Snape made no indication as to whether or not he knew his mother; though admittedly he did often notice that whenever Harry looked directly into Snape's coal black eyes with his emerald green eyes that he inherited from his mother, Snape often flinched, very subtly, from Harry's gaze.

"_Harry?_" Ginny asked again, this time a little more forcefully, making Harry flinch as he knew that she wasn't going to take any short answer.

"_No Ginny, I didn't._" He finally answered timidly, a little concerned as to how Ginny was going to respond.

"_HARRY JAMES POTTER!_" Ginny yelled over their mental link, making Harry flinch. "_Those letters were written to Professor Snape, by your parents! He has a right to receive those letters, and you can't keep putting it off. I know you and Professor Snape never get along well with each other, but you need to send those letters to him._"

Harry sighed heavily, and slumped back into his pillow. Deep down, he knew that she was right. Much as he had to send the letters to Snape, he wanted to know why his letter included one for him.

"_You're right Gin,_" He said to her, feeling her grinning over their link, due to the nickname that he gave her. "_But there's something I need to know before I send them to him._"

"_What is it Harry?_" She asked, her curiosity peaked.

"_I can understand my dad's letter, which may be an apology to Snape for all the misery he caused him in their youth._" Harry said, looking at the letters, before he put down his father's, but holding onto his mother's. "_But my Mum's, that's the one that doesn't make any sense. As far as I know, Snape never made any indication that he and my mother had any connections with each other. So why would she write him a letter?_"

Harry could feel Ginny go quiet, as she was thinking about something. She remained quiet for a few minutes, until she finally spoke, offering an idea that Harry never thought of himself.

"_Why don't you ask Aunt Petunia if there is any connection between them?_" She suggested. "_After all, she and your Mum grew up together, maybe she might be able to provide with some information._"

Harry couldn't help but smack himself on his forehead, thinking how he never thought of it himself. His aunt and mum were sisters, therefore his mum must've shared details about who she was friends with in her time at Hogwarts; even if Aunt Petunia was going through a bit of a jealousy phase against his mum for being able to use magic, while she couldn't.

"_I can't believe I didn't think about that!_" Harry admonished incredulously. "_I mean seriously, my mum would've definitely told her at some point who her friends were. I never bothered to tell her about Snape, but she knows I don't get along with our potions teacher._"

"_Well then what are you waiting for?_" She asked, determined to get Harry moving. "_Go and ask her, NOW!_"

"_Alright, alright already,_" Harry replies, jumping off his bed, and walking out into the hallway. "_I'm going._"

As Harry walked through the hall, and down the stairs, he somehow sensed Ginny smile smugly through their Bond, causing him to roll his eyes. He guessed she somehow sensed him rolling his eyes at her, as he felt a subsequent slap to the back of the head. Rubbing his head, he hoped that he would understand the Bond, so that he wouldn't have to suffer through these sort of predicaments. As Harry came around the corner, he saw Petunia working in the kitchen, cooking dinner for that evening, to which she also noticed him in the hallway.

"Ah Harry, you're down here for dinner early." She said, a smile gracing her face as she looks at him.

Harry walks into the kitchen, leans against the sink counter, and looks his aunt, wondering how he was going to ask her the question on his mind. Petunia notices the inquisitive look on his face, and stops her cooking, taking on a serious look before looking back at her nephew.

"I know that look on your face Harry," She stated, leaning against another counter as she turned towards Harry. "You may have inherited your father's looks with the exception of your eyes, but your mannerisms are completely your mother's. Lily often took on that look whenever she had something on her mind. So what is it?"

Harry couldn't help but grin at his aunt, as he knew that she would've seen through him. He did have to admit though, he liked knowing that a lot of his mannerisms came from his mum. Just another thing to connect him to his mother, other than his emerald green eyes.

"There's a question that I kind of have on my recently, and I was hoping you could answer it," He started, still unsure as to how he should word his question. "Especially since it's in regards to... Mum."

Petunia froze at the last few words of Harry's question. While she had made peace with her nephew, and chosen to do everything in her power to protect her nephew in the memory of her deceased sister. That did not mean however, that she was still uneasy of talking about Lily, since she was often forced to shamefully remember the way that she treated her in their young adulthood after Lily began her time at Hogwarts. But Petunia would force herself to recount stories of Lily for Harry, as she knew that he had a right to know what his mother was like in her youth.

"What's on your mind Harry?" She asked.

Harry sighed, deciding to get what he needed to ask done with, however uneasy it may be. Through their Bond, Harry could feel Ginny sending him waves of encouragement. Finally, summoning all of his Gryffindor pride, Harry looked at Petunia, and asked his question.

"When Mum went to Hogwarts, she told you who she was friends with, right?" He started, wanting to start small.

"Yes, she did." Petunia answered, feeling that Harry's question would eventually lead into whatever he really wanted to talk about. "She even brought a few of them over a few times in the summer between her Hogwarts years. one of her frequent visitors, if I remember correctly, was a girl named Elizabeth Warren, who was your mother's girl best friend, to the point that she chose her as your godmother."

Harry's eyes widen at that information, as he was unaware that he had a godmother, until now.

"Why didn't you tell me about that before?" He asked, wanting to know about his godmother before he had to ask the question that he really should ask her.

Petunia scoffed at the question, as if Harry should've known the answer to his question already; which in retrospect, he really should've.

"Never mind," He said, shaking his head at his own stupidity. "Vernon."

"Yes Harry, Vernon was the reason I never told you about your godmother." Petunia clarified, her face contorting in disgust as she thought of her former husband. "He wanted to keep you isolated and make you feel alone, regardless of how much I protested. You know how he was, he didn't want you to have any sort of contact with your parents friends or world. Now that he's gone, I've been starting to try to reestablish contact with a few of your parents old friends from their years at Hogwarts, at least the ones that I remember."

Harry nodded his head, understanding why his aunt never said anything to him about his godmother. But now he was curious about her.

"What's her name again?" He asked, wondering if his godmother had recently married. "Elizabeth Warren?"

"That was her maiden name yes, but she got married nearly around the same time as your parents," Petunia answered, knowing why her nephew was asking this. "If I remember correctly, I think she married a childhood friend of your father's. I don't know her husband's name, but I know that her married name is Greengrass; Elizabeth Greengrass."

'_Hold on, Greengrass?_' Harry thought to himself, knowing that the name was familiar. ' _Why does that name sound familiar?_'

"_Hold on Harry, let me ask Ron,_" Ginny said via their Bond. "_Because I know that name is familiar too._"

Harry waited in silence, as he waited for Ginny to reply. Petunia figured that his silence had something to do with Ginny, and waited patiently, often checking on the food, to make sure that it didn't overcook or burn. Finally Ginny spoke up again.

"_OK Harry, so according to Ron, there's a girl in your guys Year called Daphne Greengrass,_" She said, her voice sounding tired as if she must've gone through a shouting match, which knowing Ron, was more than likely. "_And he didn't seem to like talking about her. Apparently she's in Slytherin House, and you know how Ron is when it comes to anyone from Slytherin. Maybe she's your godmother's daughter, which could make her your godsister or something. I also remembered that she has a sister in my Year named Astoria too._"

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes, as he did indeed know how Ron was against Slytherin. Ron held a very narrow minded view against Slytherin, believing that anyone who came from Slytherin, were all evil. But Harry didn't exactly share this belief; sure, he had issues with Draco Malfoy who was in Slytherin, along with his group which consisted of Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson, along with a few Slytherin upper years who were bigots and blood purists, but that was afar as his dislike against Slytherin was. He really didn't have any reason to hate all of the Slytherin students, especially since they were all like him, just kids trying to get through their classes and school years.

"_Excellent way of looking at things Harry,_" Ginny said, smiling through the Bond, agreeing with Harry's viewpoint. "_Honestly, not all Slytherin aren't that bad. I've shared classes with a few Slytherin First Years, and they were very nice to me._

"_Now stop beating around the bush, and ask Aunt Petunia what you're supposed to be asking!_" Chastised Ginny. "_There's always a chance to ask about your godmother, after you find out whatever kind of connection Snape and your Mum had with each other._"

"_Alright, I'm getting to it!_" Harry chuckled, as he shook his head at Ginny, sending waves of it through the Bond.

"Speaking to Ginny through your Bond Harry?" Aunt Petunia asked, finishing up with dinner.

Harry looked at his aunt, a sheepish look on his face, as he realized that he had been standing in the kitchen the entire time she cooked dinner. Petunia couldn't help but chuckle at her nephew, knowing that he couldn't help it.

"Your eyes go into a blank like trance, indicating that you're "mind speaking" with Ginny, and let her know that I said hello please." Petunia explained, her smile still present on her face, as she went to prep the dining room table.

"Got it Aunt Petunia, I'll keep that in mind next time." Harry responded, rubbing the back of his head as he learned of a trait of his Bond with Ginny, before cocking his head. "Ginny says hello back by the way. Anyway, I was wondering if my Mum ever mentioned if she was friends with someone named... Severus Snape."

_*SMASH*_

Harry was shocked by the sound of a plate smashing on the floor, especially since Aunt Petunia never once dropped a plate in her life. He knew that she would have to be absolutely surprised by something, in order for her to do that. He watched, as she slowly turned towards him, a look of shock and surprise on her face.

"Where did you hear that name?" She asked, almost speaking in a whisper.

Harry decided to tell her the full truth, as he felt that it would be the best course of action.

"You remember how I often told you about my potions professor that I didn't get along real well with?" He said, watching as his aunt nodded. "Well, his name is Severus Snape, and he also happens to be the Head of Slytherin House. I know that he had a grudge against my dad, and he's also inflicted that grudge against me. But when I went to Gringotts with Ginny and the Weasleys, I went into my family vault, and found two letters for Snape: one from my dad, which may be an apology letter, but the second one, was from my mum, which makes no sense to me, since Snape has made no indications that he ever knew my mother."

As soon as Harry said that, Petunia scoffed, as she slowly sat down in the dining table chair behind her.

"Of course he wouldn't say anything about your mother," She started, confusing Harry. "He's probably still not over the fact that she chose your father over him, which between you and me Harry, was one of your mother's smartest decisions. Not to mention the fact the she pretty much ended their friendship during their Fifth Year at Hogwarts.

"Wait, _WHAT?_" Harry shouted, shocked that his mother was actually friends with the greasy git. "My mum was friends with Snape, a man who extended his grudge against my dad, onto me? How did that even come to happen?"

Petunia raised one of her eyebrows at Harry's statement, wondering how she never figured out that his potion teacher was Snape, and that Snape would inflict his hatred for her brother-in-law onto her sweet and kind-hearted nephew, even if he did have a tendency to get in trouble. Then a light bulb went off in her head, as she remembered that Lily often spoke of how Snape hated James with a passion throughout their Hogwarts years, so it made some sense why he hated him and treated him badly for the past two years. She had often wrote letters to Dumbledore whenever she could, but the old headmaster often gave her roundabout answers, as if he was afraid of the feedback that she would give him; and now she knew why. Severus Snape _was _the potions teacher that was treating Harry with hatred.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to speak with Dumbledore about this little piece of information." She said, disappointed that Dumbledore refused to give her a straight answer about Snape being Harry's teacher. "Anyway Harry, to answer your questions: yes, your mother and Snape were friends, best friends in fact. He was actually the first person to reveal that Lily was a witch, and since then they were inseparable, much to my dislike. They went to Hogwarts together, where they were separated into different Houses, and for five years they tried to keep their friendship intact, but Snape was falling into a bad crowd in school,which was no surprise to me. Then finally, in their Fifth Year, that was when Lily finally ended her friendship with Snape, after he insulted her badly. She wouldn't tell me how he insulted her, but whatever it was, it was enough that she refused to talk about him, or to him for that matter, ever again.

"One thing I did know, was that in the summers between their Hogwarts years, Snape often complained about your father, whereas Lily was slowly decreasing her complaints as she got older; she tried to deny it, but I could easily see that she was falling for him. Truth be told, I wanted your mother to be with your father, more than Snape. Quite honestly, I was glad when Lily said that her friendship with Snape was over, and that she was finally giving James a chance."

Harry processed all of the information that his aunt gave him, and quite frankly, he wished he didn't have to. He could handle the simple fact that Snape and his dad didn't get along, and that Snape had some sort of life-debt to his father to keep him safe. Now, he had to think of how his connection to the man had grown, via his mother. He was still having a hard time contemplating that his mum was friends with the Head of Slytherin.

"So, what do you think could be in the letter Mum wrote him?" He asked, now unsure more than ever, if he should send the letter.

Petunia sighed, as she could only guess what was in Lily's letter. She knew her sister well, and knew that deep down her sister could never hold a grudge against someone for a long time, and would rather give a person another chance. Thus there was no doubt in her mind, that Lily's letter to Snape was more than likely a forgiveness letter, especially as she was the forgiving type.

"I suppose that your mother's letter is a forgiveness letter," She said, sighing heavily. "Your mother was never the kind of person to stay angry at someone forever. I of all people, should know that, since I treated her so badly in our youth, and yet she still forgave me, and accepted me back into her life when I apologized to her at our parents funeral."

Harry knew that his aunt was talking about his Evans grandparents, and held her hand. He had often wished that he could have had a chance to know them, along with his dad's parents as well. Come to think of it, he didn't know his Potter grandparents names. he knew that his Evans grandparents were named William and Marie Evans, but he knew next to nothing about his dad's side of his family. That would have to be something that he would need to remedy the next time he visited Gringotts.

At that point, Dudley came in, holding a stack of letters. He was wearing a pair of gym clothes, as he had recently started going to a local gym, in hopes of losing weight, which had been thus far successful. He had already lost nearly fifteen pounds, and was hoping to lose more.

"Hey Mum, I just got back from my time at the gym, and the mailman was just about to deliver the evening mail, when I offered to take them." He said, providing his mum and cousin a chance to recompose themselves, as well as a chance to get their minds off of depressing thoughts.

"Thank you Dudley, go and get changed, as you, Harry, and I will be eating dinner soon." She said, as she started looking though the mail.

Harry and Dudley took this as their chance to leave, and began making their way to the stairs. After returning to his room, Harry took the letters for Snape out again, now even more confused on whether or not to send them. He looked over them carefully, especially the one that his mother had written for him. He was still reeling form the discovery that he not only had a godmother somewhere out there, along with a couple of godsisters, but that his mother had at one point been best friends with his potions teacher, who hated him with a passion due to the fact that he resembled his father. What was he to do now, knowing the complicated bonds that he had with Snape, the one teacher in Hogwarts that he didn't like?

"_Whether you don't like him or not Harry,_" Ginny said, trying to calm Harry's jumbled mind. "_He still has a right to know that your mum wrote him the letter. I know that you two don't see eye to eye with each other, but he still needs to know that he has a pair of letters from your parents._"

Deep down, Harry knew that Ginny was right, and took in a deep breath before releasing it. He then held the letters, and walked over to Hedwig. His snowy white owl watched him with calm and relaxing eyes, ass though she too was trying to give him reassurances. He tied the letters to Hedwig's leg, and walked over to the window.

"Hedwig, I need you to take these two letters to Professor Severus Snape," He said to her, looking into her amber eyes. "Once you deliver the letters, come straight back."

Hedwig hooted in understanding, and affectionately nipped his finger, before flying away. Harry watched her go, until her white outline was no longer visible in the blackening night. He then turned away form the window, to join his aunt and cousin for lunch. Had he been paying attention, he would've noticed a taxi car stopping in front of his aunt's house, and a large woman exiting with a bull dog at her side.

Harry descended the stairs alongside Dudley, who was recounting how he was doing so well in the gym. Dudley would even tell Harry of a cute looking Asian girl with long black hair, who often worked out alongside him.

"I'm telling you Harry, she was stunning, and she had no problem helping me out in the gym." Dudley recounted with a grin on his face. "She showed me the best workout equipment, and techniques, that would help me in losing weight. Not to mention that she had no issues that I was overweight, and understood why I wanted to lose weight. Though she did seem to be having a hard time understanding what boxing was."

Harry briefly wondered if the girl Dudley was talking about was from the Magic World, when they heard a knock at the door. The two cousins looked at each other in confusion, since Petunia never mentioned that they were expecting visitors.

"I wonder who's at the door?"Dudley asked, confused at who could be knocking on their door at this late hour.

"I don't know, but I guess we better check it out." Harry said, deciding to be polite.

As the boys walked o the door, they heard Petunia call out form the kitchen/dining room.

"Harry, Dudley, can one of you check and see who's at the door?" She called out.

"Sure thing Mum/Aunt Petunia!" the boys called back, since they were already planning to open the door.

Since harry was closer to the door, he grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and opened the door. He would soon regret it, as he felt a massive carry bag shoved into his arms, eliciting a grunt exit his chest.

"Well don't just stand there boy, take my bag and carry it upstairs to my usual guest room!" He heard someone, a woman by the sounds of her voice, call out rudely. "Good for nothing brat, you should consider yourself fortunate that my brother took you in at all."

Harry's eyes widened, as he recognized the voice of the speaker. He looked up to see a fat woman that could give his incarcerated uncle a run for his money in regards to how big they were, with facial hair sitting above her upper lip. She had the same skin complexion, hair color, and beady eyes as Vernon, all common traits of the Dursley family.

Marge Dursley.

"Well what are you standing there for? Move out of my way!" She exclaimed, pushing Harry roughly to the side, as her bulldog Ripper walked by at her feet, growling at Harry. "Oh hello my sweet Duddykins, how's my favorite nephew doing?"

Harry looked at his "Aunt" Marge with loathing, as her tone changed fast when she addressed Dudley. Ever since Harry had lived with his aunt, cousin, and uncle, Vernon made it clear that he was to address Marge as aunt, even though there wasn't any relation between them. Marge Dursley also took pleasure in making Harry's life miserable, perhaps more so than Vernon Dursley. He still remembered the one time that she allowed Ripper to chase him up a tree in the backyard, and didn't bother to call him off until the next morning, resulting in Harry having to be looked over by Aunt Petunia.

Both Dudley and Petunia equally disliked Marge, not only for her treatment towards Harry, but also or her tendency to badmouth his parents. There were many times Petunia wanted to slap Marge for her nasty words against her sister and nephew, but was forbidden from doing so by Vernon. As it was, Petunia came out into the hallway, her eyes wide at the sight of Marge.

"Marge, what a surprise!" She said, trying to sound respectful, even though she wanted to grab the fat women's hair, and force her out of the house. "What brings you here, and why didn't you send us a heads up about your visit?"

"Oh hello Petunia, and don't mind me being here." Marge said, waving her hand dismissing Petunia's words. "And I actually did send Vernon a letter letting him know that I was coming to spend the whole month of July with you. Didn't he tell you?"

Petunia, Dudley, and Harry looked at each other in shock, realizing that Vernon never had the chance to say anything about Marge visiting, before he was taken away by the constables.

_Dun, Dun, Duunn!_

_Ell now this will indeed be awkward! How will the family of three be able to handle Marge for a month, and will she still face her fate as she did in canon? Wait and find out, in the next chapter!_

_HINNY FOR LIFE!_


	13. The Bloated Dursley

"Speaking"

"_Mental Speak_"

'_Thinking_'

_"__Parseltongue__"_

_Writing/Reading_

"**_Yelling_**"

To say that Marge Dursley's stay at Number Four Privet Drive during the month of July was a miserable time for Harry, Dudley, and Petunia, would be saying the least. When Petunia told Marge that Vernon was arrested for twelve years of child abuse, Marge was not very pleased about it. She often tried to remind Petunia of how they were in love with each other, and she made a marital vow to be obedient to him. She also took a particular interest in trying to torment Harry, for "getting her precious brother in trouble". Needless to say, she refused to leave Surrey until her month visit was finished, and got Vernon out on bail; unfortunately for her, that wouldn't happen since Vernon was put into jail without bail.

As time went by, Harry's time at Number Four came to feel no different when Vernon was in the house, with Marge around. His frustration at his former uncle's sister was growing with each passing day. Even her dumb bulldog Ripper wasn't much help, as he was constantly trying to bite Harry's ankles. The one consolation was that Ginny was helping to keep him calm via their mental link.

**_(Author's Note: I want it to be known that I do not think bulldogs are stupid; I vaguely recall that Harry did call Ripper a dumb dog in POA, though it has been a long time since I read the book so I could be wrong, and if Harry did call Ripper dumb it probably did have to do with him not liking the dog.)_**

"_Just stay calm Harry,_" She said one day midway through July. "_She won't be at Number Four for long, and she won't be able to convince your aunt to change her mind about Vernon._"

Harry sighed heavily, as he had to admit that Ginny was right.

"_You're right Gin,_" He said. "_But she is so aggravating and really seems intent on destroying the peace that Aunt Petunia, Dudley, and I have built after Vernon was taken away by the constables._"

Via the link, Ginny sent calming waves to Harry, knowing that it would help him. It did help in a way, as Harry felt his muscles relax from her mental presence. As Harry relaxed, he thought back to what Petunia told him about his godmother. Ever since Marge had showed up, he had yet to have a chance to get in contact with her, even though Hedwig had returned from delivering Snape's letters from his parents. Harry did have to admit that he had to wonder if Daphne Greengrass, the Ice Queen of Slytherin, knew that her mother was his godmother, and if so why didn't she try to approach him in the past two school years and tell him? Then he thought of one particular person that would've given her a massive amount of grief if she was seen talking with Harry: Draco Malfoy.

Harry couldn't help but sneer at the thought that the annoying git Malfoy was keeping his godsister from being able to talk to him. There also might've had to been the fact that he was always with Ron and Hermione, thus giving Daphne no chance to talk to him alone. Regardless, Harry wasn't going to pass up any chances or opportunities to talk to Daphne, or get in contact with his godmother.

"_I think that's a good idea Harry,_" Ginny said, the feelings of a smile on her face transmitting through their Bond. "_Getting in touch with your godmother might be a good way to keep your mind off of Marge Dursley. Plus it'll give you a chance to learn the type of people your parents, particularly your mother, were during their time at Hogwarts._"

"_I guess you're right Ginny, I'll get started on it right now._" Harry remarked, getting up from his bed, and walked over to his desk.

Harry opened the top drawer where he kept his writing paper, and began writing out his letter to his godmother. With help from Ginny, Harry managed to write out an appropriate letter that sounded formal and respectful to a lady of an Ancient and Noble Family, but also carried a tone that represented a desire to start a familial bond with his godmother, and her family. Finally looking over his letter, and with Ginny's help, he figured that it was appropriate to send to her.

_Dear Elizabeth Greengrass, Lady of the Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass,_

_I don't know if you remember me, since the last time you probably saw me was when I was a baby, but I am your godson, Harry Potter. I am writing you this letter because I have recently learned of you, and would like to officially be reacquainted with you. I have been living with my aunt Petunia Evans, though she was up until now married and had the surname of Dursley. I can assure you that Aunt Petunia is nothing like she used to be when she was younger._

_In any case, I am writing to you now for a couple of reasons. One was that up until now I was unaware of your existence, due to my former uncle who was abusive towards me, my aunt, and cousin. He didn't want me to have any knowledge of my magical heritage and family, so he forbade my aunt from telling me anything about you. Another reason, again due to my abusive uncle was that he wanted me to be as miserable and isolated as possible, so he wanted me to be unaware of any other family members that I may have had, even honorary ones such as any godparents that I had, such as you._

_In any case, he's no longer in the picture, and my aunt was able to tell me a little bit about you, and she told me your married name was Greengrass. I remembered that there was a girl in my year in Slytherin House named Daphne Greengrass, as well as a second Greengrass named Astoria, and figured they were your daughters._

_I'm hopeful that you will want to be in regular contact with me, and hopefully we could set up a time to meet each other in person. Of course, I'll understand that it would have to be before school starts, but if there's any chance for a face to face conversation, I would be open to it._

_I look forward to hearing from you._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Harry James Potter,_

_Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter._

Looking over his letter one last time, and put it into an envelope with his address on it, then he looked at Hedwig. The snowy white owl was perched in her cage, and perked up when she saw Harry walk towards her. She hopped onto his arm when he opened her cage door, and attached his godmother's letter to her leg. He then walked to the window, and opened it.

"Hedwig, take this letter to Elizabeth Greengrass, and wait until she writes a reply letter." He instructed, releasing the owl after she gave an affirmative hoot.

He watched Hedwig fly until she was a speck in the sky, and walked away.

However, he had a thought and a mischievous smile grew on his face, and pulled out another piece of paper, and wrote on it. Once finished, he looked at the second letter he wrote as a decoy for Marge. The purpose of the decoy letter was partly to ensure that Marge wouldn't get suspicious, with any mentions of Hedwig and Magic removes from the letter. He had no doubt in his mind that Marge, wanting to spite him, would try to steal the letter so that it couldn't be sent, but in the end he would have the last laugh. In his mind, he could hear Ginny laughing, as she noted that what he was doing would be worthy of Fred and George.

With the decoy letter ready Harry went downstairs, to find his aunt sitting in the living room, watching one of her favorite soap operas; Marge the she-walrus was also in the room, with the accursed Ripper laying at her feet, while Dudley was out undoubtedly at the gym again. Slightly grinning to himself, Harry walked into the room.

As soon as Harry entered the living room, Ripper had spotted him and started growling, and ran at Harry biting his ankles. Fighting hard to keep his balance in spite of Ripper, Harry walked up to Petunia's chair, from which she looked to see Harry. Petunia noticed Ripper at Harry's ankles, and glared at Marge.

"**_MARGE!_**" She shouted are her sister-in-law. "I thought we had an understanding that you were going to keep Ripper restrained!"

Marge looked at Ripper attacking Harry's ankles, and shrugged.

"He's just trying to play Petunia." She replied nonchalantly, not caring one bit of what Ripper was doing to Harry.

Petunia glared heavily at Marge, causing said woman to sigh.

"Ripper, come here boy." She said, prompting said dog to stop what it was doing.

Now that Ripper was no longer biting at his ankles, Harry turned to his aunt. As his eyes made contact with hers, she saw hints of guilt in her eyes, as he understood that she blamed herself for Marge still being in the house, and mistreating him the way she was. Harry didn't hold this against her though, and placed a calming hand on her shoulder, which she then held in her own hand.

"What do you need Harry?" She asked, looking into green eyes so much like her late sister.

"I'm wrote a letter to my godmother Aunt Petunia," Said Harry, starting slow and easy, ignoring the scoffing sound from Marge. "And I was wondering if it would be alright to send it to her?"

Petunia thought over Harry's words, as well as his request. She had expected him to ask about his godmother at some point, maybe even write a letter to her, but why would he be asking permission to send it to her when he had Hedwig...

'_Oh so that's it!_' She thought to herself. '_He must've already wrote her a letter and sent Hedwig, and the other one is meant to be a decoy for Marge._'

Deciding to play along with his plan, Petunia opened her mouth to answer, but before she had a chance to say anything, Marge spoke before she did.

"I think it's time for you to open your eyes boy," She rudely said, using the word that Vernon used to insult Harry. "If your godmother, if she even exists, truly wanted to be in your life, she would have been the one who took you in, instead of you being left on my dear brother's doorstep."

Both Harry and Petunia's faces started getting red from anger, as Marge continued to insult Harry's past and family. Regardless, they opted to ignore her as best as they could, and with his bond with Ginny, Harry started to feel a little calmer. He felt his aunt's hand on his, and looked down at her.

"Go ahead and send your letter to her Harry." She answered, eliciting a smile from her nephew.

Harry quickly ran outside the house before Marge could say anything else, and put the letter in the mailbox. After putting the letter in, he went back in the house, and spent the rest of the day helping his aunt Petunia, and ignoring Marge's insults. True to his suspicions, the letter was not in the mailbox in the morning, and there were fresh footprints with cane markings in the ground, showing Marge had taken the letter, but he grinned, knowing that she thought she stole the letter, but only got the decoy letter.

Two days passed until Hedwig returned with a reply letter from his godmother. Harry then went to his aunt, telling her that his godmother had sent a response, and wanted to keep in regular contact. Petunia was glad for her nephew, and told him that he was welcome to send and receive any letters to and from her. Marge for her part, was stumped at how Harry managed to get a reply from his godmother when she was sure that she had gotten his letter before it was picked up by the mailman. Harry returned to his room, and pulled out the letter that he had received from his godmother, and read over it.

_Dear Harry,_

_First of all, of course I do remember you; you're my godson after all, and I was the fourth person to get to hold you when you were born. You kept trying to grab my hair so much that I had to keep my head leaned back, much to the amusement of your father, mother, and the . Second, don't bother calling me all of that stuffy pomp and circumstance drivel, just call me Aunt Elizabeth if you want to. I will be more than happy to keep in regular contact with you, as I had hoped that your would reach out to me eventually. I am indeed familiar with your aunt, but if you say that she's changed, then I will take your word for it._

_I am sorry to hear of how you had to grow up, but I am truly glad that your abusive uncle is gone now. As for myself, there are other honorary family members that you have, but I promise you that I will speak of them in later conversations. As for Daphne and Astoria, yes they are my daughters, and with my husband, we are extended honorary family members of yours. As for your request for a face to face meetup, I'm afraid that we currently cannot do that, as my family and I are currently on vacation in France, but I am more than happy to keep regular correspondence with you, just have your owl take your letter to Gringotts, and they'll send the letter to me, and vice versa. The reason I say send the letter to Gringotts first, is that my family usually have any mail go through them whenever we go on vacation, so as to prevent owls from getting extremely exhausted from a long flight based on where we go._

_Please keep in touch._

_Your godmother,_

_Aunt Elizabeth_

Harry smiled at the reply from his godmother. Sure it was brief and short, but it was a start. through his Bond with Ginny, he could feel her sharing his happiness of being in contact with her. After that, Harry continued sending and receiving letters with his godmother, and every so often he would get letter from one of his godsisters, or his godmother's husband Cyrus, though Harry had to correct himself by calling him Uncle Cyrus, but he didn't mind. Every time Harry wrote a letter for his godmother, he would make sure to write a decoy letter for Marge to steal, which she always did, but in the end Harry would have the last laugh over her, whenever he would inform Aunt Petunia and Dudley that he received a letter from Elizabeth.

Finally the day for Marge to go home was near, with one day left for her to stay. Deciding to at least get through the last night of Marge's visit, Petunia opted to at least prepare a nice dinner for the small 'family'. As Petunia was preparing the dinner table, Harry came into the room, with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Aunt Petunia, do you have a moment?" He asked, the paper in his hand just hanging by his side.

"What is it Harry?" Petunia replied, looking up at her nephew as she continued prepping the table.

Harry brought the paper up, and handed it to her. Setting down the last of the papers, Petunia took the paper and looked at it, realizing that it was a permission form sent from Hogwarts. Looking over the paper, Petunia was able to figure what Harry was going to ask.

"It's a permission form that allows me to visit the small town of Hogsmeade just outside of Hogwarts," He specified. "It's a privilege that only Third Years and above get to enjoy. It specifies that I need a guardian to sign it, and so I was wondering if you could sign it please?"

Petunia looked back over the permission form, and made her decision. walking over to a jar that held some pens and pencils, she pulled one out, and started signing the paper. Looking over the signature, Petunia felt pleased with her actions, and handed the form back to Harry.

"Was that the only thing that you got from your school Harry?" She asked, interested to know what Harry might've needed for his school.

"Other than the usual school supplies list, not really." Harry answered, folding the paper and putting it into his pocket before Marge could see it. "It's just the typical list of books and potions stuff that I need for the classes."

Petunia nodded her head, indicating that she had understood. returning to finish setting the table, she and Harry turned their heads towards the living room, where Marge was watching the news on the television. Walking into the room, the aunt and nephew watched as the news talked of a convict that had escaped from prison nearly a week ago, named Sirius Black. While the news had to some degree been informative about Sirius Black escaping, it had been noted, at least loudly by Marge, that the prison where Black had escaped from was omitted from the news. One thing that Harry noted, was Ginnys reaction to the news via their Bond link, prompting him to leave for his bedroom.

"_Ginny, everything alright love?_" He asked, concerned about her.

"_Harry, I don't know how to tell you this, but Sirius Black, he's an escaped prisoner from the prison of Azkaban,_" Ginny replied, concern and worry laced in her voice. "_A prison for Magical England, that has no prisoner has ever been broken out of._"

Harry contemplated on what she was saying. If Sirius Black was a prisoner that broke out of a supposedly inescapable prison for the Magical World, then why would he be mentioned in the Muggle news? Surely that would be a breach of the Statute of Secrecy if the Muggles learned of an escaped prisoner from the Magic World, even if they didn't know where he escaped from.

"_Dad said that sometimes the Minister of Magic will talk with the Muggle Prime Minister,_" Ginny said, her voice calming a little. "_So it's likely that Minister Fudge informed gave enough information to the Muggle prime minister about Black, but requested that Azkaban be kept out of being mentioned in the Muggle news._"

Harry considered what she was saying, and figured that what she said made sense. Perhaps it was best for the Magical World politicians to work with the Muggle world politicians on certain matters. Such as escaped prisoners that could be dangerous; but then a thought popped into his mind.

"_Ginny, do you know what Black was imprisoned for?_" Harry asked, curious as to what Black did to make him dangerous enough for the Minister of Magic to notify the Muggle Prime Minister.

He waited for Ginny's answer, which surprisingly didn't come right away. He could feel her curiosity though, and felt that she was going to her parents for the information. When she returned though, he could feel her fear and concern.

"_Harry, my dad said that Sirius Black was imprisoned twelve years ago,_" Ginny replied, her concerns growing. "_Right after your parents died, and after he killed twelve Muggles and one of your parents friends who was also his friend._"

Harry thought about that tidbit of information that Ginny's dad gave. It did seem concerning, but...

"_That's not all that dad told me either,_" Ginny continued. "_Apparently Sirius Black, was friends with your parents, and was made your godfather. But what's worse, was that he was one of Tom's followers, and Black gave your parents up to him!_"

Harry felt his legs give out beneath him, and he fell back onto his bed, staring up into the ceiling with shock. He knew who Ginny was talking about: Tom Marvolo Riddle, Lord Voldemort. He remembered back to the Chamber of Secrets of how the memory of sixteen year old Riddle revealed that he was the young incarnation of the man who murdered his parents, and tried to kill him, and now the connection to Sirius Black? Sirius Black was his godfather, and gave his parents up to the man who wanted him dead?

"_Why?_" He asked, a little more to himself than to Ginny. "_If he was friends with my parents, and my godfather, why would he betray us to Voldemort?_"

"_I don't know Harry,_" Ginny said, hoping to help him as best she could. "_I wish I could help you with figuring out why Black would do that, but I don't have an answer. Just promise me that you won't try and do something stupid or get you in trouble._"

Harry couldn't help but grin and snort at Ginny's comment.

"_Can't guarantee that Gin,_" He answered. "_You know trouble has a way of finding me._"

As Ginny laughed through the Bond, Harry looked at the clock. Seeing that it was almost time for dinner, Harry went back to the conversation with Ginny.

"_Hey Gin I gotta go,_" He said, wishing he could continue talking to her. "_This is the last night with Marge, thankfully. So I gotta go and make an appearance._"

"_Okay Harry,_" She answered. "_And try not to let what Marge says get to you. Though I will admit that she is most definitely a foul woman._"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at what Ginny said about Marge Dursley. She wasn't wrong, Marge was indeed a foul woman, and he doubted that there'd ever be someone that could top her. Though the scoff that Ginny made over the Bond Link did make him tilt his head in curiosity.

"_Just wait til you meet a few of the women who Dad has to work with at the Ministry,_" She replied, giving him some sense of an answer. "_Based on what he's said about a few of them, there are a few that could give Marge a run for her money. Though there is this one that Dad keeps talking about, but he doesn't give a full answer as to who she is. He did describe her as a toad faced woman all dressed in pink, but that's about it._"

Harry considered what Ginny was saying, but until he met these women, he would hold them in contempt. For now, he needed to get ready for dinner. Bidding Ginny farewell for now, he disconnected the Link, and changed into semi-formal clothes. It was Aunt Petunia's request, but truthfully it was in Harry's opinion, that it was more than Marge deserved. He personally preferred to wear casual clothes, but he respected his aunt enough to go along with her request.

He walked down the stairs, dressed in a button up green shirt, with the top two buttons undone, and the cuffs folded back, with a pair of black formal pants and blue suede shoes (he had recently started listening to some classic American rock music and was a fan of Elvis Presley, and specifically request for the shoes featured in one of the songs). He even played Elvis songs a few times in the house for both his and his family's pleasure, and to tick off Marge who called American music (or any music for that matter, even if it was British music) as vulgar and uncouth, especially Elvis who was considered to be the "King of Rock n Roll" in America. His aunt Petunia had even went out and bought him a guitar, and allowed him to learn how to play it and as it turned out, he was a natural with it, and even had a nice singing voice. Though if you asked Marge, she would say that Harry was just as vulgar uncouth as any musician.

As he entered the dining room, he saw his aunt, cousin, and Marge sitting at the table already, waiting for him. He quickly took a seat next to Aunt Petunia, though it was unfortunately across from Marge since Dudley was sitting in the chair across from Petunia. Regardless, Harry opted to keep from losing his self-control as long as Marge didn't say anything nasty. Though that was more than likely to happen, especially when she got drunk which, as the dinner was progressing, was exactly what was happening.

"So tell me boy," She said, her words becoming a bit of a slur with the amount of bourbon she was taking in. "Where exactly, are you attending school at?"

Harry looked up at Marge, and then at Petunia. He knew that he couldn't give too much information about Hogwarts, and it was more than likely that Vernon had told her something different. Regardless, Harry had made a promise to himself that he wouldn't allow Vernon Dursley to control his life.

"I'm going to a private boarding school that my parents used to go to in their youth," Harry answered Marge, looking back at her. "Called Hogwarts School for the Gifted. My parents apparently enrolled me into the school when I was born, and I wasn't to start attending until I was eleven years old. It's where I've been going to since then."

Marge snorted at Harry's response, which caused some of her bourbon to spill out of her glass and onto Petunia's carpet, which made her purse her lips. It was obviously clear that Marge didn't believe what he said about his parents. This wasn't too much of a surprise to Harry, considering what Vernon had been telling her about his parents over the years.

"Don't lie to me boy," She said, glaring at Harry. "Vernon told me all about your good for nothing parents, and how they were drunks and addicts. I seriously doubt that they could've attended a fine private school, and enrolled you there."

Marge took a quick gulp of bourbon, pointedly ignoring the glares from both Harry and Petunia, while Dudley was doing his best to stay out of the ordeal. As Harry glared at Marge, he could fell his anger at her growing, and while he could feel Ginny trying to keep him calm through their Bond; unfortunately though, his anger was blocking her calming vibes off, so she was unable to calm him down.

"Your father, as Vernon told me, was nothing more but a lazy drunken unemployed bum," Marge continued, drowning another gulp of bourbon, undoubtedly getting ready to say something that would truly anger Harry; something about his mother. "And as for your mother, well it's just like with dogs. You see it all the time with dogs; if there's something wrong with the bitch, then there's bound to be something wrong with the pup. It'll undoubtedly be the same way with that atrocious red haired girl in that picture in your room."

In that moment, something snapped in Harry, and while he couldn't explain it, he honestly didn't care. It was one thing for Marge to say something about his mother, and he would've defended her memory. But to use the same insult for both his mother and Ginny? That was utterly unacceptable! He stomped up out of his chair, causing it to fall back onto the floor with a loud thump while he glared at Marge.

"**_SHUT UP!_**" He shouted at her, as his magic started flaring up, causing Marge's glass to shatter in her hand. "**_SHUT UP YOU FAT BITCH! I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO INSULT MY MOTHER'S MEMORY, AND I DEFINITELY WON'T ALLOW YOU TO INSULT MY GIRLFRIEND!_**"

The reactions of the three other occupants were varied. Petunia looked at Harry with pride, as he was defending his mother and the girl he loved, while Dudley looked at his cousin in shock and awe, as he was seeing Harry in a whole new light. Marge however, looked at him with a vicious grin, as though she managed to get him right where she wanted him.

"Now you listen he..." Marge didn't finish her sentence, as she noticed that her finger was swelling.

The swelling didn't stop there, as it continued to expand down her hand , and the rest of her body, turning her into a human balloon. Marge couldn't understand what was happening to her, and pleaded for Petunia or Dudley to do something and to help her, but neither one of them moved to do anything for the inflating Dursley. Ripper barked and growled, as though he was trying to figure out what to do to help his owner, but didn't know what to do. Marge simply continued to inflate, her clothes straining to stay on as she started bouncing off the ceiling, and eventually floated out the back patio door which had conveniently been open, and floated off into the sky screaming for help.


End file.
